Resistance: Witches of War
by chimeraguard
Summary: Three decades after the end of the Chimeran War, the United Earth Government finds itself at war with a new alien species...
1. At War Again

**A/N: Considering my account name is Chimeraguard, it is only appropriate that I make a fic of the universe that inspired me to make that name. I know I'm probably overextending myself but ideas for this fic popped into my head during English class and I had to try. This is a crossover between the Resistance series and Strike Witches, with the Resistance universe having a slight AU. Now, instead of 90% of humanity being wiped out, it was only about 75%.**

**See? Improvement! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter One: At War Again**

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**1992, 32 years after the end of the Chimeran War**

**United Earth Defense Ship ****_Charlie Tent_**

**Earth Space**

Crewman James Larin smiled as the Charlie Tent pulled away from Earth. The Charlie Tent was one of the many new Nathan Hale-class Shockships, meant to ensure that humanity was never threatened again. Though twenty two years had passed since the Carpeting of Russia, no one had forgotten the devastation that had been reaped on Earth. The six kilometer long ship was armed to the teeth with nearly every weapon known to man and heavy armored to boot.

"Hey, Larin." Larin turned and saw Ian pointing at a nearby view screen, which showed a pair of Orbital Satellites turn their lasers on Earth and fire. "Looks like their hitting the Wastelands again." Ian said, staring as the massive beams struck their targets. Larin nodded. "Must have found another Military Remnant." He muttered. Then he went back to work, it wasn't like orbital strikes were _that _uncommon.

Meanwhile the Charlie Tent continued on course to meet up with the Third Fleet

* * *

**Several hours later**

**Space between Earth and Mars**

**Third Fleet, Command Carrier ****_Vengeance of Japan_**

"Sir!" Fleet Commander Holtz Jorges turned to Officer Elena Willson. "We've got multiple Von Neumann signatures incoming on a straight course to Earth. three Mushrooms, ten Cylinders, and several hundred Mantas."

Holtz nodded, his face calm. "Sound General Quarters, Charlie Tent and Stephen Cartwright take front. Liberty Squadron provides fire to pierce armor, remaining ships form reserve. Launch Armored Skirmishers and engage ECM."

The Bridge Crew quickly rushed to their positions as the alarm sounded.

"General Quarters! General Quarters! All hands to Battle stations!"

The Third Fleet consisted of the Command Carrier Vengeance of Japan, three Nathan Hale Shockships: The _Stephen Cartwright_, the _Charlie Tent_, and the_ James Grayson_, ten Blazer escort ships divided into Liberty and Unity Squadrons, and a few hundred Armored Skirmisher automated Mechas.

Armored Skirmishers launched forward in a screen as Liberty Squadron readied cannons and homing lasers, thousands upon thousands of weapon ports opened. Two minutes later the distance had closed between the two fleets.

"In firing range!"

"Engage!"

Suddenly the surface of each ship in the fleet erupted into a mess a weapons fire. Blazers fired hundreds of shells loaded with dispenser rounds. As the rounds sailed into range, they burst open, sending tiny micro-missiles into the Von Neumanns, shredding away armor. Even as the living ships attempted to regenerate, volleys of massive Radiation Sabots tore into the damaged craft, dozens of Mantas disintegrated as lucky shots ripped through their cores.

The return volley was just as impressive. Tens of thousands of energy beams shot out from hulls and raced toward the Third Fleet. Electronic Countermeasures sent half of course, which identical beams shot out from the Fleet and intercepted 2/3s of the remainder.

Which still left thousands to impact on the powerful shields of the Fleet.

"Liberty Squadron's taken a pounding! Liberty 4 is at 43% shield strength!" Liberty Squadron's Commander reported.

"Liberty Squadron, pull back to regenerate. Unity Squadron take their place!" Holtz roared. "_Cartwright, Tent_, fire all guns, focus on the Cylinders. The _Japan_ will scan and locate cores."

As ships changed places the massive shockships sent barrages of laser, plasma, ion, missile, projectile, energy pulse, and Radiation fire toward the enemy. The _Vengeance of Japan _sent out probing scans at the Neumanns, locating cores and coordinating fire across the battle-space. Four Cylinders went down, their armor unable to protect their cores from the Radiation Sabots, while even more lighter Mantas were destroyed by concentrated fire by the Blazers. Flashes of light heralded the explosions of Nuclear missiles, which tore through the armor of an unlucky Mushroom, destroying it utterly. Meanwhile return fire continued to be deflected by active and passive defenses and impact on the shields and in some cases armor. For now, they were holding.

The remaining creatures had come close enough to attack with the Skirmishers, which quickly went to work. Accelerating towards the attackers and disregarding the loss of several of their number to defense fire, they split up, with some engaging in close range with the Mantas, where the electronic warfare of both parties had made long range fighting pointless, while the rest veered to attack the three remaining Mushrooms from their sides, where their massive frontal armor did them no good.

"James Grayson, concentrate fire on Mushroom 3. Liberty Squadron support Armored Skirmishers engaging the Mantas. Everyone else, concentrate on those cylinders." Holtz ordered calmly as Unitys 2 and 4 went up in massive fireballs, their defenses having been finally overwhelmed by fire.

It was swiftly avenged as a volley of Ion beams ripped through the offending Mushroom, weakening it enough for the following salvo of nukes to finish it off.

Meanwhile the Skirmishers finished off a third Mushroom, despite losing dozens in the fight. Fresh drones poured out of the Carrier, constructed by the ship's onboard factories, while the ship itself coordinated fire from Shockships, Blazers, and Skirmishers alike, pinpointing cores and ensuring minimal friendly fire.

Finally the Mantas had been scrapped, the Cylinders annihilated, and the last Mushroom had been torn apart by concentrated fire.

Holtz rubbed his forehead. "Deploy SAR, and inform Command about this. Get science ships in here to look at what's left of the wreckage."

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_Codex_

_Von Neumanns: Very little is known about the Von Neumanns, other than the fact that they are a race of sentient machines first appeared three years ago, and began attacking human ships with no pattern. They display a frightening regeneration ability, capable of repairing crippling damage to their structures. However, every Neumann has a core, which, if destroyed, will destroy its user. Their primary, and only known weaponry are massive amounts of energy beams, which have the power to lock onto their targets. Similar to a Bullseye or Reaper weapon. They are capable of subverting any technology they come across, even their Cores can possess and control technology. Because of this. SRPA has forbidden the use of actual Neumann technology in research. However, the principles on which their weapons and regeneration are based on have allowed SRPA to create new weapons and armor for United Earth Defense forces, including homing lasers, regenerating armor, and the famous Armored Skirmishers. Their name comes from their tendency to absorb and break down solid matter they come across, then using it both to power themselves and to create more of their kind. They seem to favor using large, brute force attacks, relying on their regeneration to see them through._

_Types of Von Neumanns_

_Mantas: A corvette vessel, the Manta is largely used in massive waves, hurling clusters of lasers and drawing fire away from other, larger types. In large numbers, they can overwhelm even the mightiest spaceship. Exact size varies._

_Cylinder: A cruiser analogue, they are the striking force, and the poor bloody infantry of the Neumanns' space fleet, they are often seen holding defensive positions near Motherships, or guarding more dedicated types as they go along their duties, as well as spearheading assaults, they will interpose themselves between the enemy and their charges._

_Mushroom: Owing their name to the shape, a Mushroom has a massive semi-circle of mass composed of nothing but armor in front of them, the rest of the body is a "stalk", which houses the core and their many weapons. Used primarily on the offensive, absorbing fire directed at them from the front with impunity. Engage from the side. Usually around 10-12 Kilometers long._

_Mothership: Massive constructs. Largest Neumanns to date, the biggest ones can be several times the size of a Chimeran Battleship. They serve as hubs for Numann space fleets, manufacturing everything needed for the war._

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_United Earth Defense ships: The UED controls the space from the inner planets to the asteroid belts, to protect mining ships and colonies, as well as the Homeworld, the UED has commissioned several new classes of spaceships, most being constructed at repurposed Chimeran Towers. All UED ships are atmosphere capable. UED ship doctrine focuses on massive amounts of armor. Von Neumann forces need concentrated, sustained fire from several larger ships to have a chance of breaching UED hulls._

_Blazer class Escort: Two kilometers long, Blazers are armed with projectile cannons, Big Bull Point defense, and Homing beams. They are designed to lay down a massive field of fire, ripping apart armor with a variety of ammunition types from their cannons. They are grouped into squadrons of five._

_Armament: 50 64 inch Projectile cannons, 300 5 inch projectile cannons, 20 missile tubes, 200 Radiation Sabot guns, 1000 Bulletstorm rail guns, 20 ion beam cannons, 50 homing laser clusters, 500 Big Bulls._

_Nathan Hale class Shockship: The workhorse of the new fleet, and six kilometers long, the Shockship is designed to house nearly every weapon known to man, from Radiation Sabot turrets to ion cannons to nuclear missiles. They are armored to the point of absurdity, and are designed to absorb fire for less well armored ships and take down their opponents in massive slugfests and brawls. They are also tasked with deploying rapid response teams of Armored Skirmishers and Powered Armored infantry to hot spots on Earth. Named after heroes of the Chimera War._

_Armament: 80 64 inch Projectile cannons, 300 missile tubes, 800 Radiation Sabot guns, 500 5 inch projectile cannons, 900 Big Bulls, 80 ion beam cannons, 2000 Bulletstorm rail guns, 200 homing laser clusters, 150 Armored Skirmishers, 4 [REDACTED BY ORDER OF SRPA]._

_Vengeance-class Command Carrier: Nerve centers for the fleet, these carriers are eight kilometers long, and capable of manufacturing Skirmishers, ammunition, fighters, tanks, etc. anything that the fleet might need for ground or space warfare. In combat, they deploy electronic support, coordinating fire and sabotaging hostile systems. They are named after countries destroyed during the Chimeran War. Needless to say, there is no risk in running out of names._

_Armament: several electronic warfare and support systems, 2000 Armored Skirmishers and/or aircraft, 100 homing laser clusters, 50 ion beam cannons, 50 missile tubes, 500 Bulletstorm rail guns, 100 Radiation Sabot guns, large scale construction facilities._

_Armored Skirmisher: SRPA is fully aware of the dangers Neumann cores possess, and instead studies Von Neumanns remains, what few there are, to see how their technology works, and how humans might utilize the same principles without danger. Therefore, the Armored Skirmisher was made 100% out of human parts, while wielding a Big Bull weapon in its right "arm", and in its left using an ion beam cannon. It uses Von Neumann-based gravity manipulators, allowing it maneuverability on space, land, sea, or air. While less armored and armed than UED tanks, the Skirmisher fulfills the role of a hit and run attacker well in the military. Controlled by primitive AI._

_Big Bull: Imagine a Bullseye, now imagine a Bullseye scaled up as a small point defense gun. That's a Big Bull._

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**A/N: To no-one's surprise I'm, sure, the Von Neumanns are the Neuroi. Why these massive ships weren't used against the Strike Witches will be explained later. And eventually, the Third Fleet will meet the Witches.**

**Please give me feed back on what you think, like, and want me to improve.**

**REVIEWS FOR THE REVIEWS GOD!**

**FOLLOWS FOR THE FOLLOWS THRONE!**


	2. Welcome to Earth

**A/N: This chapter's gonna have some focus on what life is like on Resistance-verse Earth.**

**It's more exciting, dangerous, but more exciting.**

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_**Chapter 2: Welcome to Earth**_

_Dear Santa, for Christmas I want my daddy to come home to me and mommy. Can you find him? I haven't seen him for a year._

_Letter written by a six year old living in the ruins of Boston, Massachusetts_

**March 23, 1992**

**Earth, Terre Haute, Indiana**

_"Hello everybody, and welcome back to United Radio, I'm your host, DJ Zed, bringing news from Eastern Europe. Just two hours ago, a group of Zoners ambushed a Cloven raiding party, estimated fifty of the buggers downed. Let's hear it for our friends in the East! Now, on to our fleet's actions in space-"_

"Benny, get your gear! We've got a Grim horde coming right for us!" The twelve year old boy looked at is father Wilson, who was already in full armor, and holding an M18. Benny nodded, switched off his radio, and strapped on his armor and carbine before moving beside his dad as the two walked through the tunnels and up the ladder to the surface.

"How bad is it dad?" Benny asked, slapping a clip into his weapon, and old but well cared for M5A2 Folsom, as the two moved to meet with the rest of the people in their section of the town.

"Ugly." Was the response. "Grims have been starving for months now. They must've felt that fresh meet was worth getting shot at. Leland wants us to hold the suburbs." By now they had reached the gathering. Over a hundred people, from children, teenagers, and adults, all armed with a variety of weapons, and twenty Howlers. "Right then," He began giving orders. "Ferin, your squad takes the center bunker, load up on machine guns and Marksmen and place Hedgehogs. Everyone else, onto the rooftops!"

People rushed to follow orders. Mines and traps were placed, weapons were readied, and people clambered to their stations.

Benny took position on one of the roofs, and took stock of his comrades.

There was Samantha Westwell, his best friend armed with a Rossmore, Marks Jamers, a 16 year old with a BM Razor, Chris Patell, fifteen years old and holding a Fareye, and Jarid Thompson, the only adult, using a V7 Splicer. They had all fought Chimera before, either hunting small packs or defending their homes, this was no different.

This particular area of the suburbs was arranged in a circle, with houses on the outskirts and a Bunker in the middle, with turrets jutting out from every angle. All of this didn't include underground tunnels that connected the areas.

"Everyone, hold fire till they're in the kill zone, we want to get as many of them at once. Now get ready, here they come."

Sure enough, a couple thousand Grims began pouring in from the distance, drawn to the houses, and by extension, the humans inside them. A few caught scent of the corpses of the last group of Grims in the middle of the enclave. Hunger overrode what sense they had, and they poured in even more eagerly, shoving and biting each other to get the first bite. They ignored the houses and charged straight into the middle, reaching the corpses.

"Now! All guns fire!"

Hedgehogs burst up from hidden positions, sending spikes that ripped through the Chimeran flesh, machine guns and weapons fire from the outer houses were added to the fire. Hundreds of dreams collapsed with screams, some of the living ones screaming again as their ravenous comrades feasted on their remains, so great was their hunger.

Benny emptied his clip and quickly slapped in a new one. Samantha fire incendiary rounds from her shotgun, setting entire groups on fire. Chris was firing with speed that only a human using the nerve enhancers of a Fareye could, each shot bringing down a Grim. A scream of "Molotov!" heralded Marks' throwing of the flaming bottle into another group.

Benny swore as a third magazine ran dry. "Biggest wave in quite a while, huh guys?" he said, firing a rifle grenade as he did so. Samantha just gave a dry grin in return as a concussions grenade sent another swarm reeling, everyone else was too concentrated on firing.

It was true though, starvation had pushed the ferals to attack Terre Haute, in search of anything that they could consume. The creatures desperately hurled themselves at the bunker. There was meat inside, they knew it, claws reached out to try to grab something, anything, that could satisfy their appetites. A few smarter ones began throwing rocks at the defenders on the rooftops. Taylor Paulse, twelve years old, took a rock to the face and collapsed off the roof and onto the ground, where her still form was beset by nearby Grims, which tore and bit each other to be the first to feast on the first true meal they had had in weeks. Taking advantage of the confusion, the Howlers swiftly leapt down and tore through the creatures with powerful jaws, stampeding through the weaker ones.

Even more Grims tried to jump onto the roofs themselves, disregarding the barricades in place to stop such an attempt. Blood splattered over Samantha as one of her shells blew one of the climbers into chunks.

Chris continued to snipe anything that came into range. A Grim made an impressive leap and landed right in front of him. "Fuck!" Chris exclaimed, falling over as the Grim swiped at him with its claws. A split second later a bayonet entered the creatures head, sending the corpse slumping back down onto the ground below. Bennys quickly ran up to Chris. "You alright?" He asked, nervous about his friend's health.

Chris nodded, still sweating. "Just scared outta my wits." He picked up his Fareye and resumed firing on the few survivors.

Finally the last Grim fell dead, with corpses covering most of the yard. Everyone took stock of their casualties.

They weren't as bad as they could have been. Only six dead, with a dozen wounded, in exchange for about two thousand Grims.

Wilson dropped down and picked up one of the corpses. "Come on guys, let's clean up this mess, SRPA will be happy to have more corpses to study."

Bennys moved to help his father and lugged another Grim corpse behind him, with his friends doing likewise.

Just another day on Earth.

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**New York, UED Fleet Headquarters**

**March 23, 1992**

General Edward Kerel sighed as he looked at the Third Fleet's report. "Eighth attack this month." He commented the other occupants of the room, all leaders of the UED. "They're planning something." One of them noted. "These attacks don't have the strength to break through. They must be planning something."

A Holographic map of the Solar system sprung up, showing the locations of UED fleets, strongholds, mines, and known Von Neumann Mother ships. Small red arrows showed the attacks that had taken place, each one with just enough force to damage the fleet, but not destroy it.

"This is nothing like the first waves of attacks." General Doring muttered. "They normally assault with overwhelming force, hurling ships in the thousands. So why suddenly go to probing raids? They haven't even attacked the Terraformer groups on the Moon and Mars, they just keep rushing for Earth. They must be gearing up for something big, these little strikes are just to whittle us down, keep us stretched thin."

Kerel nodded. "We'll have to pull back. Get the Third and Sixth Fleets to move into Atmosphere, pull the rest into orbit, they'll be coming soon, they've had a month to prepare. Ground and Wet Navy forces are to ready for a large scale offensive."

Everyone else in the room nodded, whatever happened, Earth would be ready for anything.

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**Third Fleet, Earth Atmosphere, over Eastern Europe**

**March 26**

**Vengeance of Japan**

**Wolverine Squadron**

"Nice to finally be back in the cockpit, eh guys?" Captain Howin "Herald" Yeager said, grinning to the squadron. A series of agreements and chuckles from the seven others were the response. Each Carrier had a few squadrons of fighters attached to it for atmospheric combat. Of course, that meant in space all the fighter jockeys could do was sit around, twiddle their thumbs, fix up their planes, and take care of the pets.

Needless to say, they were all more than happy to be back over Earth, freely flying their F-23s. Still, a grim atmosphere hung over them all.

"Hey, Cap?" Howin recognized the voice as his wingman, Erik "Ghost" Engel. "You hear the news? Brass thinks there's a big Neumann push coming. Think we can take it?"

Howin winced. Erik had just voiced the thoughts that had been on nearly everyone in the military's mind. "We've been fighting them for three years Ghost, we've beaten them on Earth before, and we'll do it again. For now, let's stay focused on the patrol." He replied. "Aye aye captain." Erik replied.

Still, Erik had a point, the Neumanns had proven themselves to be incredibly dangerous foes, if- _when _they launched their attack, things could get ugly very quickly.

* * *

**March 28**

_**Vengeance of Japan**_

"General Quarters! General Quarters! All hands to Battle Stations!"

Howin cursed, took one last bite of his eggs before rushing out of the mess hall and to the hanger, passing by other crewmen on their way to their own stations. He gave a quick nod to the technicians and fellow pilots before jumping into the cockpit. Flight Command began to give details. "The largest Neumann fleet seen to date has just appeared over Earth. Several groups of transports and Cylinders have broken away from the main battle and are making planet fall. We're going to meet up with ground forces and destroy the force landing in the Eastern European Lowlands. Wolverine and Leopard squadrons will deploy on CAP duty, while Grizzly and Howler Squadrons will provide close air support. The fleet will engage the hostile atmospheric ships and provide support when needed. Good hunting everyone."

And with that the first thirty-two planes took off, as another four squadrons moved to take their places.

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**Eastern European Lowlands**

The normally quiet lowlands were filled with the sound of engines as thousands of Osorio MBTs, "David" Superheavy tanks, LAV III IFVs, M270 MLRS's, G6 howitzers, laser cannon toting Avengers, Armored Skirmishers, and a few Inquisitor Command vehicles roared across the plains. Above them several dozen Eagle VTOL gunships hovered overhead, ready to use their plasma cannons and rockets to deadly effect. In the clouds a few hundred planes of varying types kept the skies clear as the massive ships of the Third Fleet covered the sky with their forms. Even higher up, flashes could be seen as the two fleets in orbit battled for dominance.

"This is 17th and 23rd Mechanized with Third Fleet Shipguard here, we have Neumann forces in sight. Seven Cylinders, multiple transports, couple hundred Mantas, and a few thousand drones. Ground forces consist of thousands of infantry drones, hundreds of Quad Walkers and tanks of various forms, and a dozen Ultra class units. We are engaging the lead elements now, sending data for artillery.

"Copy that, alright, artillery deploy now and begin firing, rear elements to guarding positions, everyone else, full speed ahead, we're almost there."

Howin grinned and the mess of Neumanns came into sight. On the ground groups of humans both in and out of Power Armor, supported by IFVs and Stalker combat drones exchanged fire with Neumann forces. Already one of the Ultras and a few dozen Heavies had been destroyed by concentrated fire. The first volley of artillery cleared the immediate area, and the beleaguered troops cheered as armored elements began engaging the survivors. "Alright ladies and gentlemen, let the Fleet handle the Cylinders, we've got the Mantas and Drones, loose missiles, then break off for another run, don't let them get close. Good hunting everyone."

He then turned to his display, which showed his scanners finding the core of the lead Manta, which was right at the front. He grinned. "Wolverine One. Fox Three! Fox Three!" Two missile were released and sped towards the target. The first ripped off the armor surrounding the core, leaving the way clear for the second to destroy the core. As the Manta disintegrated he locked onto a second and loosed another three missiles, while the rest of the planes behind his did likewise. While he scored his second Manta, thousands of missiles tore through the enemy craft, whose tracking and range were severely weakened by Electronic Warfare and Jammers. Hundreds of drones were shot out of the sky, and combined with flak volleys from the Blazers, the Neumann air forces had their strength cut in half.

It was not one-sided however, Yeager winced as Wolverine 7 went up in a fireball, fire finally overwhelming her plane's shields and more fragile armor. It was a fate shared by many pilots.

However, it was obvious that the UED held the upper hand. This was punctuated as one of the cylinders was blown to pieces by the fleet's next volley.

* * *

"Get down dammit!" Captain Simmons of Rapier Company roared as he pulled Private Lezard back as lasers from a Neumann infantry bot tore through where he was standing a second ago. Lezard nodded his thanks before blasting the offender's head off with his Gauss rifle.

Rapier Company had been part of the advance forces pinning down the Neumanns. Now, a few hours later, they had taken fifty percent casualties but were still holding. More importantly, Simmons with Rapiers 1, 6, 7, and 9 were pinned down by a swarm of infantry bots and a heavy. The bots were simple, the heavy was not, as it fired its main laser, killing off three more of his men.

"That does it! Rapier 4, Rapier 5, take down that heavy now!" The two squads burst from their own cover, a wrecked Osorio, and sprinted into effective range. Two of their number fell from hostile fire, but the dozen survivors got into range. Several rockets and a pair of ion blasts ripped into the unfortunate alien tank's side, tearing it apart, both armor and core.

"Alright, Rapier Company, advance!" The remaining hundred or so members of Rapier Company pushed forward, gunning down the remaining bots, all while tanks and Armored Skirmishers tore into Neumann heavies and Ultras. Squads of men in Power Armor toted .50 caliber assault rifles while Avengers blew apart aircraft. A squadron of A-10s annihilated an Ultra, defying antiaircraft fire from the entire hostile army. The entire battlefield was a mess of broken vehicles and bodies, both human and Neumann alike. A trio of Neumann Walkers wiped out a small group of IFVs before being destroyed by a team of Osorios, who began engaging one of the Ultras, supported by a David. The Superheavy tank's massive laser cannon melted the Ultra's armor plating, concentrated fire finished it off. Precisions Gauss Rifle shots tore through weakened armor and into cores, while constant rocket, plasma, and artillery barrages ripped through more of the enemy numbers.

Not that the Neumanns weren't giving a good account of themselves. An pair of surviving Ultras wiped out a tank company with their huge weapons. A group of heavies swatted several VTOLs out of the sky. All across the battlefield humans and neumanns fought and died, with casualties going into the thousands for both sides.

Even so, the Fleet finished off the remainding Cylinders, their capabilities weakened in the atmosphere. With the skies clear fire began raining down on the hostile ground forces. The surviving hordes of bots were smashed apart in instants, even Ultras and heavies could not withstand the murderous volleys of fire. Within minutes the last of the attackers had been wiped out.

The UED lost about seven thousand personnel, a few hundred vehicles, and several dozen aircraft. Considering the scale of the attack, it was quite low.

The survivors turned their heads upwards, where the battle in orbit was still ongoing.

* * *

_Codex:_

_Neuroi Types:_

_Infantry: Cheap to build and numerous, these 'bots', as they have been nicknamed by the troops, are disposable cannon fodder. They were only seen after the first year of fighting, where it was shown that UED infantry armed with proper anti-armor weaponry could destroy even the powerful Ultras. They are armed with a pair of arm-mounted laser cannons, and are mainly used to pin down and otherwise occupy opposing infantry. They come in tracked and bipedal forms, and have no core. Easy to destroy._

_Heavy: Coming in walker and tank forms, heavies are the primary striking force of the Neumann ground forces. Armed with several high powered laser cannons, they are comparable to a modern MBT. However, they can be destroyed easily by concentrated fire from infantry, and a single Osorio tank can take one down with relative ease._

_Ultra: The most powerful Neumann ground units seen to date. Walking and several legs, these behemoths tower over the battlefield. An individual Ultra is equivalent to a tank battalion on the battlefield. Advise engaging with Orbital and Atmospheric ship support, or David Superheavy Tanks._

_Transport: The name says it all, large Neumanns designed to carry huge amounts of ground forces. Poorly armed._

_Drones: Weak, numerous, expendable. Deployed en masse from Motherships and in smaller amounts, transports. Drones are cannon fodder. While strong in numbers, they are pathetic individually. It has been said that an amateur in a Great War era biplane could defeat one in a dogfight._

_UED Technology:_

_Energy shields: From spaceships to military structures to tanks and walkers, most of the warmachines of the UED are equipped with energy shields based off of Chimeran technology. In general ,the larger the subject, the more powerful the shield. The most powerful shields actually reflect energy weapons fire back at their shooters._

_Stalker Combat Drone: Built in reconverted Chimeran towers, Stalkers provide an anti-air and infantry support role in the UED. They are equally good against ground and aerial targets, as well as cost effective._

_Osorio Main Battle Tank: Armed with a 120mm cannon, a coaxial 20mm autocannon, and a top mounted sustained laser beam weapon, and protected by some of the best armor known to man and an energy shield, the Osorio is the backbone of the UED armored forces. It is also capable of being transported by shuttlecraft._

_David Superheavy tank: The Goliath was the most feared weapon in the Chimeran arsenal. The David was designed to combat them. __Armed with a Mega laser cannon, a coaxial 220mm cannon, several homing laser clusters and railgun batteries, and a pair of missile bays._ These powerful weapons are equally effective against the Neumann Ultras, boiling through their armor and into their vulnerable cores. They are also equipped with the legendary carbon nanotube armor, a trait shared only with the UED Space Armada. 

_Inquisitor Command Vehicle: The nerve center for a UED army, Inquisitors allow commanders to coordinate forces over a vast front, as well as command combat drones on the field. Their powerful scanners also allow them to locate Neumann cores, and transmit this information to forces on the battlefield._

_F-23 Black Widow: The UED's air superiority fighter, designed to defeat any hostiles in the sky. Can be armed with a multitude of missiles and two Big Bulls. Protected by an energy shield. It also has VTOL functions, allowing it to be incredibly versatile when needed._

_A-10: During the Chimeran War, even a few Stalkers could completely deprive humans of any air support, to counter this, the UED created the A-10. Heavily armed and armored, the A-10 can withstand multiple missile strikes even without its powerful shield. Neumann lasers have proven no more effective in bringing these fierce planes down._

_Type 62 Gauss Rifle: Next generation sniper weaponry. The Type 62 hurls a .50 caliber bullet at several times the speed of sound. It has inherited from the Fareye the electromagnetic neural accelerator, giving the user the perception that time has slowed. It is powerful enough to penetrate Neumann armor, giving even the common infantryman a fighting chance._

_M-18 Storm Rifle: A more technologically advanced M5A2, the M-18 is the standard issue weapon for the UED infantryman. Fires .303 rounds from a 50 round magazine. Also has a 40mm grenade launcher, and can be fitted with multiple accessories._

_M3 .50 AR: A .50 caliber assault rifle for power armor. Can be fitted with multiple accessories. Excellent rate of fire, accuracy and penetrating power._

_Life on Earth: Earth is, in simple terms, a Death World. Humans on Earth either live in large cities, protected by armies, fortifications, and a militia including the entire population. Or in smaller enclaves, usually in the ruins of destroyed cities. Wherever they live, no where is truly safe. Hordes of feral Chimera, from massive packs of Grims to thousands strong Widowmaker herds, attack human settlements every day, driven by an incessant and ravenous hunger. To counter this, everyone in every community, from childhood, are trained to fight. By 10 years old, if not younger, the average human can be formed into a squad and has more live combat experience than almost all pre-Chimeran war soldiers, and can be trusted to fight in a organized military conflict without fear. This goes doubly for those living in the Russian and European Wastelands, known as Grey Zones, where there are still Military Chimera survivors. The Zones are filled with Military Chimeran Strongholds, Cloven tribes, unstable energy eruptions from destroyed Grey Tech, and the never-ending Ferals. Even among the humanity's best, the Zoners are survivors._

_Howlers: A Chimeran doglike subspecies, Howlers were one of the first groups to go feral. Eventually, they were domesticated, and are considered the next evolution of Man's Best Friend._

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**A/N: Howin Yeager is an Original Character, if Chuck Yeager or his family are in any way offended by him, I apologize profusely.**

**I am accepting names and descriptions for Pilots, crewmen, captains of spaceships in the Third Fleet, and Ground pounders. Please review and put up your name if you're interested. I can't guarantee I'll choose it though, or if I'll even get any.**

**Hope you've enjoyed it, please tell me what you think.**


	3. Screaming in Space

**A/N: Reply to review**

**mastermind: It is humans with Chimeran tech v.s. Neuroi. Most of the ships are using what are essentially very big Augers and Bullseyes. Also, the energy shields were reversed engineered from Chimeran tech. Not to mention there are Stalkers being used as combat drones. When infantry combat comes up more, there'll be a lot more Chimeran tech used.**

**I have edited the previous chapters, UED ships now have descriptions of the armaments.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Screaming in Space**

* * *

**Orbit above Earth**

**Vengeance of Russia**

Space above Earth was a mess of lights and fire as human and Neumann fleets tore into each other with a vengeance. On Earth itself, arsenal ships and land based silos loosed thousands of missiles at their opponents in space. Laser and rail gun satellites unleashed hell on the approaching ships. Blazers, Shock ships, and a couple hundred less advanced warships opened fire as well. Mushrooms, cylinders, Mantas, Stingrays, even a Mega was annihilated by a murderous hail of projectile, plasma and missile fire. Radiation Sabots tore into cores, sneering at their targets' armor's attempts to stop them. Return fire annihilated a dozen ships, tearing through their shielding. Other ships held on, their shields depleted, their armor continuing to stubbornly resist laser fire. Admiral Darrel winced as the badly damaged David Winters charged forward, its crippled frame absorbing thousands more shots as it rammed into a Mega, destroying both ships in a massive nuclear fireball.

The battle had started when the biggest fleet Darrel had ever seen hurled themselves into the attack. Tens of thousands of Mantas, Hundreds of Cylinders, over two hundred Mushrooms, and a few dozen Megas, all escorting six Mother ships, which deployed almost a million drones.

No matter, the massive cannons of the Blazers had fired flak rounds, demolishing drones and Mantas like they were mere flies. Shock ships unleashed hell with arsenals of weaponry, Vengeance Carriers launched massive squadrons of Armored Skirmishers into the battle, and the Prometheus Weapon obliterated an entire section of the invading fleet. The opening fire from the Neumanns had been shrugged off with ease, only now, deep into the battle, was the insanely tough armor being breached. Three Mother ships had already been destroyed, and now Darrel got to have the pleasure of seeing a fourth disintegrate, along with all the Neumanns under its control.

The ship shook as another volley bounced off its tough armor "Battle report!" The admiral shouted to his second in command, Leon. "Sir, the Sixth Fleet's taken 70% casualties. We've got about sixty ships and 70% of the Orbital Defense Grid lost. Hostiles are down to a dozen Mushrooms, fifty Cylinders, a couple thousand drones, Mantas, and Stingrays and six Megas. Most of the things that made it to the ground were wiped out."

"Good. We just finish off these assholes and we're done." He raised his voice. "Fourth Fleet takes Sixth Fleet's position. Skirmishers take out the remaining Cylinders. Blazers will destroy the remaining drones, Mantas and Stingrays. Anti orbital guns will take out the Mushrooms. All other ships, concentrate on Mega 3 and Mega 5, bring them down."

The fleet went to their duties with gusto. Hundreds of 64 inch guns on the Blazers fire shells that sped towards their targets. Many of the shells split open to reveal swarms of micro-missiles that wiped out half of the surviving drones and Mantas. Tens of thousands of smaller rounds spewed out from the rail guns of the two kilometer ships to rip apart survivors, filling space with a veritable wall of fire. Powerful Rad-Sabot rounds pierced through armor and tore into the cores of the larger Stingrays. Nuclear fire engulfed seven Mushrooms, leaving the five survivors badly damaged. Skirmishers fell in the hundreds to bring down two dozen Cylinders. The two unfortunate Megas were targeted by practically everything else in the fleet. Plasma fire melted off armor, leaving the way open for shells, lasers, Big Bulls, and Radiation Sabots to tear into their interiors. All the while homing lasers from both sides impacted and deflected each other. Return fire wrecked Hellions 2 and 4, as shuttles and escape pods evacuated the crew of the doomed ships.

Meanwhile, the remaining Neumanns had deployed in front of the two surviving Mother ships, trying to protect them from enemy fire. The Mother ships constantly hurled out new ships, Cylinders, Mantas, Stingrays, thousands of drones, even a new Mega joined the fight. Another dozen satellites went down to this new hail of fire, as the Neumanns moved side by side, forming a nearly impervious barricade between them and the Mother ships.

Luckily, the UED didn't have to attack it head on. Darrel looked at Leon. "Call in the Prometheus, I want that fleet wiped out now." Leon gave a savage grin. "Yes sir!" He began communicating with the officers in command of the massive cannon. "This is _Vengeance of Russia, _requesting Prometheus strike on Neumann fleet. Target: Hostile Mother ship. Location: Grid 3. Targeting dada sent, fire for effect."

The Prometheus Weapon was the most powerful weapon in human history. Powered by a hundred pieces of Gray Tech, the weapon was sealed in a reconverted Chimeran Tower that was even more fortified than the rest of the planet. The weapon itself if guarded twenty four seven by a small army. There are three such weapons on Earth, positioned so that everything in orbit can be easily targeted by at least one of the weapons. This particular Prometheus Weapon was in Antarctica, buried underneath several Kilometers of ice, only emerging when incredible amounts of firepower were needed.

Like right now.

The small, cube-like fragments that powered the cannon circled around each other in patterns, rapidly building up energy, before a massive pulse shot out into space zoomed toward its target and impacted on a Mega.

A massive flare of blinding light engulfed the area as 23 TETRATONS of TNT's worth of energy was unleashed. The Neumanns didn't explode, buckle, break open. They just... vanished, every last one of them, Motherships, Megas, Mushrooms, Cylinders, it made no difference. Just like that, the battle was over, and the powerful cannon submerged back under the ice to recharge.

* * *

**March 29, morning**

**Orbit above Earth, Fleet Command Station**

Every Fleet Commander and most of the Captains in the UED had been called in to this briefing. General Kerrel addressed the group. "After the attack yesterday, the remaining Neumann Motherships in the Solar System have emerged near Jupiter and are trying to rebuild their forces quickly to attack again. We are not going to give them that chance. Orders are for entire fleet to launch a full scale attack on the surviving Neumanns to destroy their Motherships."

There was dead silence in the room. "The ENTIRE fleet sir?" The commander of 6th Fleet asked, stunned. Kerrel nodded. "That's correct, with the rest of the Neumanns revealed, we have a chance to drive them out of the Solar System. Those Mother ships are the only thing these aliens care about losing. They can replace anything else, but if they lose those last four Mother ships, we win." He sighed. "I know your forces are all understrength, but we cannot let this opportunity go to waste. If we do, they'll attack again, and with most of the Defense Grid gone, many more people will die. All of our ships can regenerate, so you should be at a reasonable level of combat effectiveness when you get to Jupiter. Dismissed, and Godspeed."

* * *

**April 3rd**

**Near Ganymede, moon of Jupiter**

**Vengeance of Japan**

Fleet Commander Jorgen looked calmly at the ships of the Third and Fourth fleets. Twenty six ships in all. 2 Vengeance class: The Japan and Germany, eight Shock ships, and sixteen Blazers. The war had taken its toll on everyone. At the beginning of it, Third fleet had boasted over thirty ships, just part of an armada of 250. Now UED had only 108 warships left, and Third Fleet was left with only 11 ships.

But it all ended today. It they won here the war was over. Earth would have endured another alien invasion and remained triumphant. It was with that in mind that he sent a broadcast to every ship in the two fleets.

"This is Commander Holtz Jorgen two the men and women of the Third and Forth Fleets. For three years the Neumann hordes have invaded our space, our territory. For three years we have held them back, for our home, our family, and friends, and for Earth."

Across the two fleets crewmen stopped their duties and listened. Howin Yeager and his squadron stopped debating over kills and stood up straight. Quartermaster Martin Galm put an Auger FS down and smiled as he heard the Commander speak. Repair crews working on repairing damaged bulkheads ceased working for the moment.

"We have lost many in this war. Pilots, crewmen, captains, leaders, soldiers, and heroes. But we are still here, to carry out their will. The will to ensure that their sacrifice was not in vain! To ensure that they died for a free and living mankind! The Neumanns know we're coming, and they think they can deal with us. I think otherwise, and when we ram our gun barrels down their throats they will know fear. They will know that we still remember those who fell, and have come to call for blood."

"So fight, fight soldiers of Earth! Fight for your friends! For your families! For the living! For the fallen! For Earth!"

A resounding cheer rang out from every corridor of every ship. They had fought alongside their Commander for three years, and led by him they would drive out the Neumanns from Sol.

For Earth.

* * *

**A few hours later**

**Ganymede**

Everyone stared at the Mother ship draining Ganymede for resources. It had already built up a small fleet of five Mushrooms, sixty Cylinders, a thousand or so Mantas, and numberless drones. A half-completed Mega was being constructed nearby.

"Orders, sir?" One of the Bridge Bunnies asked.

Jorges smiled. "Open with a missile saturation on the Cylinders. Blazers bombard the Mantas and drones. Skirmishers launch and hit the Mushrooms. Prep all laser clusters for point defense. Begin Electron Warfare, jam their targeting."

Large EW suites on the two carriers activated, and Neumann systems were flooded by jamming, decoys, and false commands. At the same time over a thousand missiles spat out from the fleet and sped towards the Neumanns. A couple hundred detonated hundreds of kilometers from their targets, releasing messes of lasers that tore through the armor and cores of several Cylinders. Meanwhile 64 inch guns boomed and unleashed their payloads on the unfortunate Mantas and drones. In response, the Neumanns sent out volleys of lasers towards the human ships, but identical shots spewed out from clusters on each warship, impacting and neutralizing their counterparts. Even more lasers went flying off into empty space, or in one hilarious moment, another Neumann, as a beam from a Cyinder cleaved a Manta in half. The Manta's two comrades systems were likewise confused, and promptly returned fire.

It wouldn't last though, Jorges thought. Eventually the distance would close, and the Neumanns, with their far more numerous lasers, would burn through the jamming, and fire enough shots to get through the active defenses. And worse, he had to get close if he wanted to stop that Mother ship . He especially didn't want to fight a Mega at long range.

So the two fleets continued to pound each other into oblivion, half an hour passed, and as the distance closed the Neumann fire began impacting on the shields, even later, the shields failed and shots began pounding on the armor of some ships. Finally, 80 minutes into the battle, a lucky shot tore through a crippled section of Liberty 4's hull, impacting on the fusion reactor. Containments failed and the ship went up in a nuclear fireball.

Half the Neumann fleet had been wiped out by then. However, the Mother ship had created a few hundred more Mantas and two Cylinders during the battle which covered the hive. Still the battle was going relatively well.

Then Murphy decided he had been too nice to the UED as of late.

"Sir! The Mega's main gun is charging, it's about to fire!" Jorges eyes bulged in horror. "All ships evasive maneuvers now!"

Megas come in many different forms, but there is usually one thing common about them all. They can combine their energy and that of nearby Neumanns into one massive beam. The Mega was incomplete, so the weapon was not as powerful as it could have been. However, with the recently produced Neumanns adding their power to the blast, it was still devastating. The _Stephen Cartwright's _armor held up for a few seconds before evaporating before the massive beam, and a Blazer and several Skirmishers who were to close were likewise lost.

"Armored Skirmishers!" Jorges shouted. "Take out that Mega, I don't care what else goes down, I want that gun offline!"

The entire fleet's contingent of Skirmishers, several hundred strong even after their combat losses, charged towards their new target. Even as they advanced, the battle continued to rage on. 64 inch cannons ripped apart entire sections of their targets, homing lasers continued to mix and mingle and plasma fire melted off Neumann armor. The Neumanns now resorted to desperate tactics, their ships ramming into their foes with no concern for their own loses. Dozens were sacrificed to destroy one human ship. Massed point defense fire massacred their foes, but the last surviving Mushroom slammed into one of Fourth Fleet's Shock ships, the_ Erwin Rommel, _destroying both. Several more ships went down to kamikaze strikes. The _Vengeance of Germany _took severe damaged, but stubbornly refused to die. Nearly every ship was scarred by these attacks, but the Neumann fleet had been annihilated, and the UED advanced on the Mother ship.

The Mega fired again, aiming at the _Vengeance of Japan. _The _James Grayson _moved in front of the carrier, taking the shot for it. While it was not tough enough to completely neutralize the beam, it was weakened from the Shock ship's sacrifice, and the carrier, while its hull groaned and explosions erupted throughout the ship, survived.

Jorges picked himself off the deck and got the pleasure of seeing the Skirmishers send lines of fire across the Mega, forcing it to defend itself rather than fire its main gun. Even better, the main fleet had reached firing range, and the fourteen surviving ships tore into the Mother ship's escort and the Mega with a vengeance. Mantas and drones were annihilated nearly instantly by fire. The few Cylinders that had been made lasted only a few seconds longer. The Mega, though it had destroyed the majority of the drones, was severely damaged.

"Fourth fleet, break off and destroy that Mega. Third fleet, we're ending that damn Mother ship right here and now."

As the two fleets separated, the remnants of Third fleet's Skirmishers joined them. Fire tore into the massive Neumann, as it seemed to howl in agony from the punishment it was being subjugated to.

"Sir, we've got some weird signals coming from the Mother ship. I've never seen anything like it!" One of the officers shouted, alarmed at this new development.

Jorges snarled. "We're not letting this thing get away now, get in close and finish it off!" He shouted, as nearby the Mega went up like a fireworks show and came apart.

Even as Third fleet moved to a mere dozen kilometers from the Mother ship, it continued to build up energy. Finally, just as it was about to activate whatever it was trying to, a lucky hit smashed into the core.

The Neumann screamed as space and time around it distorted, then it, and all of the Third Fleet, vanished.

* * *

_Megas: The largest dedicated combat Neumanns seen. Unlike others, these ships are armed with a massive cannon that can take out any ship in the fleet with a single shot. Fortunately they take a long time to charge, and cannot use it while under fire. Get in close to these foes._

_Radiation Sabot: The most useful weapon in the was with the Neumanns, the Radiation Sabot is based off of Chimeran Augers, and can not just ignore, but grow stronger by passing through solid objects, making them the perfect weapons to use against the Neumanns. Considering how effective they are, some people hypothesize that the original Auger may have been made for the purpose of dealing with Neumanns, despite there being no evidence in the, admittingly sparse, captured Chimeran logs and databanks._

_Bulletstorm Rail gun: A projectile weapon that fires bolts at a rate of 75 rounds per second. An excellent point defense gun._

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**A/N: Alternate Universe adventure it a go!**

**Please review, constructive criticism is always appreciated, as are comments on what you like most.**


	4. New World, Same Foe

**A/N: Enjoy!**

**Slight change, the year is 1992 instead of 1982, so there's more time for UED to develop all their tech.**

**If I get the dates wrong for Strike Witches verse, please tell me, if all else fails, imagine this as an AU, cause it's gonna get really off the rails soon.**

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**Chapter 4: New World, Same Foe**

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**Unknown location and Time**

_**Vengeance of Japan**_

Fleet Commander Jorges moaned as light returned and he picked himself off the floor. "Status report." He managed to choke out to the crew.

Officers helped each other to their feet, groaning all the way as they recovered from the incident. One of them managed to get a basic summary of the situation after a few minutes. "We're still in orbit of Ganymede sir, no sign of the Fourth Fleet, there's quite a bit of wreckage from the Mothership sir. The rest of the Third Fleet's still with us, they're requesting orders sir."

The Fleet Commander rubbed his head, suddenly exhausted. "Have all the Captains meet me, I think things just got weird."

* * *

**Several Minutes later**

**Conference Room**

Jorges looked at the faces of the surviving Captains of Third Fleet.

Captain Mira Hayes, of the _Charlie Tent_, the fleet's only surviving Shockship.

Jason Mells, of Liberty 1, Harris Lenns of Liberty 5, and James Reins of Unity 3.

One Carrier, one Shockship, and three Blazer Escorts, all that was left of the once thirty-ship strong fleet. They all took some comfort in knowing that thousands of Neumanns had gone down with them.

The Commander sighed. "Well everyone, here's what we know. When the Mothership was destroyed, it was in the middle of trying to escape, and it appears to have dragged us with it." He frowned. "However, we still appear to be in the Solar System. This could mean anything, we could be right in the middle of enemy territory. I want a full report on the status of each ship."

Mira went first. "The Charlie Tent's armor was badly damaged, most of our missile tubes are gone, and our projectile cannons are running low on ammunition. Our shield generator's also gone." She gave a grim smirk. " However, _it _is still ready if we need it." Everyone glanced at each other uncomfortably at that remark.

Jason then spoke. "Liberty 1 is still mostly intact, apart from a few wrecked batteries and a few smashed and destroyed sections we're okay."

Harris Lenns was next. "Liberty 5 took a ramming attack on the upper hull. Most of our 64s are gone, but we've still got most of our point defense."

James Reins winced. "Unity 3 is in bad shape. Our armor is about shredded, and about half of our guns are gone. We've still got some fight in us though."

Jorges nodded. "And the Japan has certainly seen better days. Left Hull was totaled by the Mega, we're down to about 60 Armored Skirmishers, and half of our atmospheric fighters are gone." He sighed. "Alright, get back to your ships and get ready to move. There's still an Earth here to protect here, wherever _here_ is."

Everyone agreed with that. They had all sworn an oath: To defend Earth and Humanity. Wherever they were, even if it was in another universe, they still had that to guide them.

* * *

**Four Days Post Arrival**

**Orbit above Earth**

Everyone stared at Earth in numb shock and horror. Large portions of continents were covered in black clouds, and sensors detected large Neumann presences in all of them. Entire sections of the planet had been claimed by the sea, the very geography was different. Oddly enough Japan and Russia showed signs of being heavily inhabited, like before the Chimeran War.

What had happened? Had they failed? Had the Neumanns swooped down on a weakened Earth, wiped out all signs of their space fleet, and had started eating their homeworld, like they'd done to several moons in the Solar System?

The Fleet Commander shook those thoughts away. They didn't matter now, what mattered was that those aliens were on his homeworld, and he was going to do his damn best to kick them out. "Alright then, Elisa, what've you got for me?"

The younger woman stiffened. "We have Neumann signatures in Austrailia, Western and Eastern Europe, Northern Africa, and small concentrations in the Eastern part of Russia. We have small units of Neumanns near England, and we have reports of weapons discharges from there. It looks like Europe is the frontline again sir."

"Then that's where we'll do the most good. Prepare for Atmospheric deployment to the English Channel. Sound General Quarters!"

Alarms sounded across the five ships of Third Fleet. _"General Quarters! General Quarters! All Hands to Battle Stations!_

* * *

**September 6th**

**Britannian Coast, near Dover**

It was a wonderful day outside, the sun was shining, birds were chirping, the waves were smooth and Neuroi lasers ripped through the air as if-

Wait a minute...

Yoshika Miyafuji barely managed to dodge out of the way of yet another laser from a persistent Large Neuroi.

It was supposed to have been simple, as she recalled. The 501st had been sent to deal with a lone large Neuroi. Unfortunately said Neuroi had deployed several drones, then other Neuroi had appeared from hiding from below the radar, then the RAF had sent in a normal fighter squadrons to help, prompting the Neuroi to deploy several more small and medium types, and everything had just snowballed from there.

She quickly fired her Type 99 at a drone, destroying it, even as she saw the rest of her squadron take down several more. A Hurricane went down to a laser, but his wingman swiftly avenged him, destroying the offending medium type. Even so, the battle was going badly, all the Witches were tired from fighting the swarm.

"Miyafuji, look out!" Her mentor, Mio Sakamoto warned her. Thanks to the warning Yoshika managed to dodge a volley of lasers, twirling away as they slashed into where she had been seconds ago. She looked at the source and barely managed to avoid groaning as she saw 3 more large Neuroi move into the fight, slicing apart several Spitfires and Hurricanes.

"You alright Miyafuji?" Sakamoto asked. The other girl nodded. "Yes, just tired." Sakamoto acknowledged the fact. The witches had been fighting for almost half an hour, and all of them were at the end of their endurance, while the Neuroi continued to come in waves.

If help didn't come soon, things would get very ugly, very fast.

* * *

Jorges stared at the battle from the bridge of the _Vengeance of Japan's _bridge. "Am I seeing this right?" He asked, incredulous.

"If you're seeing a bunch of Neumanns fighting against a squadron of flying pantless girls and pre-Chimeran war fighter planes than yes, you're seeing this right." Mira's snarked from the _Charlie Tent_. "This definitely isn't our Earth, what do you want us to do sir?" She asked.

Jorges gave a smile. "They're human, what do you _think_ I want you to do? All ships, prepare to engage, launch Wolverine Squadron, if any of those girls get into trouble, cover their asses! Elisa, try to find the right channel to contact them, I don't want any blue on blue."

In the hanger Howin Yeager, grandson of Charles Yeager, grinned. Finally, after being hurled into who-knows-where, it would be gratifying to shoot down some Neumanns in revenge.

* * *

If the battle was bad before, it was even worse now. All of the normal fighters had been shot down, and while the Neuroi had been reduced to half strength, the aliens had completely shattered any hope of organization between the 501st. Now every witch was separated, fighting for her life against Neuroi that could zoom out to regenerate while the others kept the girls distracted. Minna winced as she managed to down a small type. At this rate, they would have to withdraw, leaving the region to the Neuroi.

Shirley spotted one Neuroi that had drifted off too far, becoming isolated from the rest. "This one's mine!" She immediately broke off to chase it. Unfortunately, just as she caught up with it, a Large type Neuroi and several drones rose from hiding and surrounded her. As she looked back she realized that the things had cut her off from the rest of the squadron.

_So this is how it ends..._ Shirley thought, she gave a grim smile, readied her BAR, and prepared to go down fighting.

Which proved totally unnecessary as a volley of blue beams tore into and destroyed the Large type, as several lasers ripped through the smaller ones, so powerful that Shirley could feel the heat. "What the-!?" She exclaimed, shocked. "Minna, this is Shirley, did you see that?"

"Yes, what was that?" Minna asked. The lights had been blinding, and they were different from the usual Neuroi weapons.

"I believe that was us." A voice answered on the radio. "Who is this?" Minna demanded, rather surprised. "Ah, this is Fleet Commander Holtz Jorges of the United Earth Defense Third Fleet. Sorry about the wait, but we had some trouble finding the right channel. We're here now and ready to assist."

"That's good, but where are you?" Minna asked scanning the waters and finding no sign of any fleet.

The Fleet Commander chuckled and somehow Minna knew that the older man was grinning on the other end of the channel. "Look up."

Minna looked up, so did most of the squadron. Their jaws dropped and their eyes bulged.

Up even higher into the atmosphere was a fleet of flying ships, though like no ships she had ever seen. They all looked like, to be blunt, flying bricks.

Flying bricks that were armed with the biggest guns she had even seen, was bigger than those on any battleship. Even as she watched, the biggest one, which seemed to be made out of two hulls strapped together, deployed another squadron of jet fighters, even as energy weapon fire rained down on the hopelessly outgunned Neuroi.

"This is Wolverine Squadron ma'am, might wanna stop gawking and get back to fighting."

Minna quickly shook herself and nodded. "Right, everyone, form up and concentrate on one Neuroi at a time!"

With most of the Neuroi distracted by the new arrivals, the 501st was able to reunite. Two large types went down quickly to the witches. Meanwhile Wolverine squadron was fighting near-perfectly, weaving through lasers, loosing missiles that homed in on cores, and firing pulses of energy that chased their targets till they impacted. On the few occasions when the absurbly fast planes were hit, the witches were shocked to see shields deflect the opponents fire. Neuroi numbers dwindled to three large types and a smattering of smaller types.

"This is Liberty 1 to everyone in the sky, stand back and cover your ears, ladies and gentlemen!"

Wolverine Squadron followed the orders immediately, the 501st, not knowing what was going on but realizing it couldn't be good, quickly followed, taking the Captain's advise.

Good thing to, because at that moment the 64 inch cannons roared, nearly deafening the girls, the shells streaked to wards the large types. Their armor was utterly annihilated, leaving them completely vulnerable. Lynette took out one, Eila downed the second, and a missile blew apart the third. The few remaining small types were nothing more than target practice.

Mio stared at the strange flying warships, then looked at Minna. "Who are they Minna?" She asked, confused.

The Wing Commander shook her head. "I don't know, Mio, but I intend to find out." She opened a channel to the largest ship. "Fleet Commander Jorges, I am Wing Commander Minna Wilcke, thank you for aiding us."

"No problem Wing Commander, but, ah, this might sound strange, but where are we and what's the date?"

Minna blinked, it was a strange question. "You're in South-east Britannia, and it's September 6th, 1944."

There was dead silence over the channel. Then Minna heard baffled voices in the background for a few seconds. "QUIET!" She winced as she recognized the Fleet Commander's voice. "Miss... Wilcke, right? You're _certain _it's 1944." He sighed. "Look, I'm sure you're very confused right now. How about you land in our hanger and meet me face to face, just follow Wolverine Squadron."

Minna hesitated, but looked back at her squadron. They were hiding it well, but they were all exhausted from fighting. Eila was actually carrying Sanya, the Orrusian girl was so tired. They needed to at least get some rest. "Alright sir, we accept."

"Good, just follow the planes and take it slow." As he said that, the jets formed up and returned to the eight kilometer airship.

"Minna, are you certain about this?" Mio asked. Minna sighed, "No, but everyone's exhausted, just be careful, we don't know the first thing about these people.

* * *

**A/N: If anyone was acting OOC, please tell me so I can correct it.**

**I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, please review. I'll add more character interactions between the crew and the 501st next chapter.**


	5. Past of Armageddon

**A/N: Glad to see people enjoy this fic, there are differences between this verse's Chimeran War and the original, which you and the Strike Witches are about to see, so here's chapter 5**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Past of Armageddon**

* * *

Minna quickly contacted Allied Command, and after sputters of disbeliefs, accusations of hallucinating, and assertions that the Allies most certainly did _not _have a fleet of flying battleships, they ordered the 501st to find out who exactly were these people, and to make sure that there were no hostilities.

Meanwhile, the entire squadron had been flying closer to the fleet, and had noticed something rather startling about its condition. Every ship had taken some degree of damage. Of the three smallest ships, one had taken light damage, another looked like someone had run over most of the top with a giant lawnmower, and the third had so many damaged parts it was a miracle it could still fly. Not that flying was normal for a ship anyway. The six kilometer ship had wrecked sections all across it, and almost the entire hull was lined with scorch marks. The carrier, however, had its entire left hull filled with gaping hulls, torn open bulkheads, and hastily patched on armor, and everyone could see repair crews on all the ships.

"What happened to these people?" Shirley wondered out loud. It was a good question,this fleet had wiped out a force of Neuroi that could have taken out a good portion of the region, so what could have caused this kind of damage to these ships?

Regardless, everyone, jets and witches alike were nearing the carrier, and began landing on a relatively small section of the starboard hull. The girls quickly followed suit, disengaging their Strikers and taking them off.

"Wow, this ship is huge!" Yoshika exclaimed, eyes wide as she stared around, taking in the dozens of crewmembers rushing around the deck. "Agreed, this is the biggest ship I've ever seen." Mio replied, looking at one of the turrets scanning the skies. Everyone else was also looking around at the ship. Shirley stared enviously as the planes were taken below deck as sections of the hull began to lower.

"Excuse me ladies." Everyone stiffened and turned to look at a squad of soldiers with strange weapons. Their leader continued speaking. "I've been ordered to bring you all to meet the Fleet Commander, the flight crews can handle your weapons and, ah, devices. Don't worry, they won't tinker." Minna nodded in response. "Very well, so long as you don't damage anything, we'll leave them in your hands."

The Strikers were quickly taken by the flight crew with any fuss on the witches' part was silenced quickly by glares from their officers. After the crew had taken the Striker units, the leader motioned to the Witches to follow him. "We'll be taking a trip down with the jets." He said cheerfully as the group stepped onto one of the platforms and railings popped up on the edge. "Grab onto the railings." He suggested as it began to quickly lower into the deck of the ship.

The trip down took only about fifteen seconds. After which they emerged in a massive hanger. The girls stared around in amazement, everything seemed so much more advanced then anything they had ever seen. Everywhere there were strange aircraft and several ground vehicles being organized, while technicians and security teams scurried around the area. Even as the witches looked around, bewildered, the platform they were on lowered into the floor, and the plane they had taken the ride down with was quickly moved into formation with several others, and several mechanics quickly began examining it as the pilot walked out and rushed to the rest of his squadron. Shirley frowned, there was something familiar about him, but she just couldn't place it.

After allowing the group to stare for about half a minute, the leader of the strange soldiers cleared his throat. "Glad to see you all are enjoying the stay, but we have to get moving, the Fleet Commander's expecting you." Everyone quickly turned their gaze away from the planes, crew, and various pieces of advanced technology, and nodded. "Lead the way." Minna said.

The man nodded and led them past the hanger and through several winding sets of corridors, a couple elevators, and eventually led them to the bridge. Along the way, the witches saw several impressive sights, from bright panels to drones and auto turrets and computers. Oddly enough, most of the people they encountered were young, around their own ages, or just a bit older. There were only a few people that they could identify as older than thirty. Even stranger, the crew seemed to come from all over the world. They heard and saw Liberions, Karlslanders, Gallians, Romagnans, Africans, a handful of Orussians, people from all across Columbia, but almost no one from Asia, and no Fusoans at all.

The two guards at the entrance to the bridge stiffened and saluted. "At ease men, I'm just bringing these girls to meet the Commander." The two guards relaxed and the door opened. The bridge was occupied by a couple dozen or so people at various stations, monitoring the situation throughout the fleet. The emblem of the UED, the Earth with crossed rifles above it, with a strange (i.e.: Chimeran) skull in the background.

Most importantly however, the Fleet Commander and the Captains of the four other ships of Third Fleet had been standing up, awaiting the witches' arrival. The leader of them was about forty or so years old, with short brown hair and eyes. Now the group turned to the squadron, with the Commander speaking first.

"So, you must be the girls we saw fighting. As I've said before, I'm Fleet Commander Holtz Jorges. Welcome aboard the _Vengeance of Japan_.These are the captains of the Third Fleet." The rest

A woman in her 30's with black hair and brown eyes walked up. "Captain Mira Hayes, of the Shockship _Charlie Tent_. Pleasure to meet you."

"Jason Mells, of Blazer Escort _Liberty 1_." The man looked African, and rather young.

"Harris Lenns, of _Liberty 5" _He seemed to be from Columbia, and was in his late twenties.

"James Reins of _Unity 3_" This man seemed to be from Liberion, and was about the same age as Lenns.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all." Minna responded. "I am Minna Wilcke of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, the Strike Witches. I'm grateful that you came, we desperately needed assistance."

Jorges smiled. "And the rest of your girls?"

"I am Major Mio Sakamoto, second in command of the 501st, from the Fuso Imperial Navy." Mio said, stepping forward.

"I'm Sergeant Yoshika Miyafuji, from Fuso to. It's nice to meet you all." Yoshika offered.

"I-I'm Sergeant Lynette Bishop, from Britannia." Lynette said shyly.

"Flying Officer Perrine Cloisterman, from Gallia." Perrine said stiffly.

"I'm Francesca Lucchini! Nice to meet you! I'm from Romagna." Francesca said cheerfully.

"I'm Flying Officer Erica Hartmann." Erica offered.

"I'm Flight Lieutenant Gertrude Barkhorn, from the Karlsland Air Force." Trude said, giving a quick salute.

"I'm Flying Officer Alaxandra Litvyak, call me Sanya please. I'm from Orussia." Sanya said, giving a slight smile.

"I am Flying Officer Eila Ilmater Juutilainen, from Suomus." Eila said, stepping in front of Sanya protectively.

"And I'm Charlotte Yeager, call me Shirley. I'm from Liberion." Shirley said smiling. "Thanks for coming, you probably saved my life."

"No problem-" Jorges blinked. "Wait, your last name is Yeager?" Shirley nodded. "Yeah, is something wrong?" She asked, confused. "Oh, no." Jorges winced, things were getting weirder and weirder. "On to more important matters. "I'm afraid we've never heard of any of the nations that you've mentioned. Furthermore, you said that the year is 1944. Last time I checked the calendar, it was 1992."

All the Witches looked like someone had told them that there was irrefutable proof that the sky was actually green.

"Even stranger, the geography of Earth is different from what I'm used to. There are landmasses where there should be open sea, and vice-versa. Also, I have never seen anything like the devices you were using to fly." He looked at the Witches. "I can only assume that my entire fleet has been transported into an alternate universe."

Everyone, UED and Witch, stared at him. "With all due respect sir, you can't be serious-" Mira began.

Jorges cut her off. "Be real captain. Completely different geography, fucking _witches_, and if it really is 1944, the Chimera should be waltzing right through Russia right now, and we'd have seen any excavated Chimeran towers from orbit. And you can bet your ass there weren't any goddamn Neumanns during the Chimeran War."

Mio blinked. "Neumanns?" She asked.

"Those aliens you were fighting." Mells explained. "Oh, we call them Neuroi." Mio said.

"Neuroi or Neumann, whatever." Jorges said, exasperated. "The point is, this entire world is different from what we're used to. Regardless, the Third Fleet has a duty. It was created to protect humanity. Even if this is an alternate world, we still have that duty. Make no mistake, we'll try to find a way home." Jorges looked solemnly at Minna. "Until then, we stay here and fight. Where is your headquarters at? We'll need to meet with your leaders to get a view on the situation."

Minna told him the location of the Strike Witches headquarters. The Commander nodded. "Alright then, I suppose we'll head there so you can get in contact with your superiors. Sandman here." He motioned to the soldier who had led them to the bridge. "Will take you to the recreational room. We'll be taking it slow, so relax and have a fun trip. I'm sure you have many more questions but now's not the time to answer them." Sandman nodded and motioned to the girls. They followed him out of the bridge."

The leaders of the Third Fleet turned to each other. "Did you notice something interesting about their names?" Lenns asked. Jorges nodded. "All but that Russian girl's name were very similar to those of the old 501st United Fighter Wing during the Chimeran War."

Mira blinked. "The 501st? The 501st that had all but two members KIA?" "The same." Jorges glumly confirmed.

* * *

**_Vengeance of Japan_**

**recreation room**

Everyone stared in amazement at the room filled with radios, arcade games, video games, and pretty much every entertainment source known to mankind. Several other crewmembers were already there. Sandman grinned at their expressions. "We'll be taking it slow, so you'll have an hour or so to enjoy yourselves. Someone will come get you when we get to your base. You need anything, just ask the crew. Have fun." He walked out, leaving the 501st to themselves.

Everyone turned expectantly to Minna, who shrugged. " I suppose we should all just relax for now. But see if you can find out about this, Chimeran War that Commander Jorges was talking about." With that everyone split up to go there own way. Sanya and Eila fell asleep in a couch, heads relaxing on each other. Erica had dragged Gertrude over to a flight simulator, and the two quickly began trying to shoot each other out of the sky. Everyone else seemed to go there own way, either talking to crewmembers, inspecting the games, or simply relaxing after their exhausting fight.

Shirley however, wanted to go see the jets again, and quickly left and retraced her steps to the hanger, asking for directions along the way. Eventually she reached it, and smirked as she saw a strangely familiar man tweaking one of the fighters.

Howin had grown up around planes, and as such, was busy tweaking his Black Widow when a female voice called out. "That's a nice plane you have." Howin turned and saw one of the girls who had been fighting the Neumanns. He gave a quick grin, like any pilot in the UED, he loved to talk about his plane. "Yep, F-23 Black Widow. It was designed for air-superiority over anything anyone can throw at us. It's got a shield generator, internal ordnance bays, and is Mach 2.5 capable."

Shirley's eyes widened. "Mach 2.5, no way! What else have you got?"

The two went on talking about the different planes of the UED for quite some time, while Shirley explained a bit about the Strikers. After half an hour though, they were interrupted. "Hey, Yeager!" Wolverine Squadron's Second Erik called. "Yes?" Both answered at the same time before looking back to the other in surprise.

"Your name is Yeager?" Howin asked, confused and hoping he had heard wrong. Shirley nodded. "Yes, I'm Charlotte Yeager, but call me Shirley." "But I'm Yeager, Howin Yeager."

The two stared at each other before a thought came upon Howin. "You wouldn't have happened to have broken the sound barrier, would you?"

"Yeah." Shirley said, feeling rather uneasy.

"And your Wing is the 501st?" "Yes, what are you getting at?"

Howin winced and pulled out a book. "Take this, page 14." Shirley stared at the cover. "_Memoirs of the 501st United Fighter Wing_?" She turned to page 14 and was confronted by a picture of a Liberion male grinning, his arm resting on the fuselage of an aircraft. Howin winced. "That man if Charles Yeager, my grandfather, famous for breaking the sound barrier and member of the 501st. You might be him... as a girl."

Shirley stared at Howin, then looked back at the picture of the man who seemed to be very familiar indeed. Then she stared back at the fighter pilot who was about her age. And, apparently, was her grandson. She did what any normal person would have done in her situation.

She fainted.

Howin winced and grabbed her before she could smash into the deck, then turned and glared at Erik. "What?" He asked defensively. "I just called to see how you were doing."

"Then I hope learning how I was doing was worth a week of latrine duty."

* * *

"What." Minna stared flatly as she looked from a recently awakened Shirley to a very nervous Howin. She had been trying to get information about the Chimeran War that had been the subject of many of the games in the recreation room. With out much success, when asked, everyone either fell quiet before saying that it was a long story and the Commander would tell them, or quickly changed the subject.

Now she had just been called to one of the ship's medical rooms to deal with what could best be called AU family shenanigans.

"I'm... ah... apparently Shirley's alternate universe grandson." Howin managed to squeak out, shuffling his feet." Minna stared at the teenage pilot in disbelief before one of the doctors butted in. "DNA tests do confirm that the two are related, and much of Shirley's history matches that of Charles Yeager, aside from being a female magic user that is."

Minna rubbed her forehead in exasperation. First an entire fleet from another universe and now _this_. "We'll be arriving soon, so get ready. I don't want to hear about another incident before we get back." With that she left, seriously considering investing in headache medicine.

The two Yeagers stared at each other awkwardly. "Well, what now?" Shirley asked.

Howin shrugged. "Well, I can't call you grandpa, so how about you just call me Howin, and I'll call you Shirley." Shirley nodded at that. "It was nice meeting you Howin, I'd better get back to my squadron now though."

"Of course, it was nice meeting you, Yeager." Howin grinned as Shirley left.

Shirley grinned back. "You to Yeager."

* * *

**September 7th, morning**

_**Vengeance of Japan**_

**Conference Room, above 501st Headquarters**

It had been a day since the Third Fleet had arrived, and Allied Command had already been informed. They planned to send diplomats, generals, and other leaders to discuss the specifics of what support the Third Fleet could bring.

Right now though, the entire 501st had been invited to the conference room of the Vengeance of Japan.

"Well," Jorges started. "I'm sure that you're all curious about what the UED really is, am I right?" All the Witches nodded. "Very well. The United Earth Defense is the military arm of the United Earth Government, a coalition consisting of every nation on Earth. The nations are still sovereign entities, but are subservient to the UEG. The UED has multiple space fleets that patrol the Solar system, as well as a powerful ground force. Each nation retains its own military to keep feral Chimera at bay, and competition between nations means new technology designs."

Minna butted in. "I've been meaning to ask. I heard you talk about this Chimeran War, and now you're talking about Feral Chimera. What are the Chimera?" Jorges grew silent. "You want to know?" The witches nodded. "Very well, bring the screen down, we've got a couple hours, time enough for a little movie."

A massive screen was pulled down, and a movie showing the history of Earth began.

"Come forth children of Earth, and gaze upon mankind in its darkest hour." The Fleet Commander whispered somberly.

* * *

_The true origin of the Chimera is unknown to us. What is known is that they first arrived on Earth in the Tuguska Event. In 1904, the airburst of a large object, now believed to be a Spire missile, wiped out a large portion of the surrounding region. From there, the Chimeran virus spread across local villages. Soon, rumors began to spread of entire villages vanishing, with people and animals alike transforming into monsters impervious to gunfire._

_The Tsar of Russia paid no heed. He had bigger things to worry about._

_From 1914 to 1918, the Great War raged. Started by a simple assassination, and enlarged by alliances and imperial pride, it would be the most destructive war between humans. Hundreds of thousands died in pointless frontal attacks on trenches, gaining mere inches for their sacrifice._

The Witches looked in horror as footage of the charges took place. They noticed that the battles seemed to take place with Brittaninans, Gallians, and Orussians on one side, with the Karlslanders on the other.

_By 1918, Germany had asked for terms. Exhausted by war, it was forced to sign the treaty of Versailles, and agreed to humiliating terms. It could have been the forerunner to a new, even more deadly war._

_But it wasn't. Fearful of another Great War, the nations of Europe formed the European Trade Organization, to encourage the people of Europe to work towards a new era of peace. However, the Tsar of Russia, having brutally crushed an uprising against his rule, refused to join. He believed that the ETO would threaten his own power. Soon a cold war broke out, with the ETO on one side, and Russia on the other. Russia soon constructed a massive wall, the Red Curtain, around its European borders. Germany was soon restored to its former glory, under the Weimar Republic, it became a full member of the Organization. Technology advanced rapidly, with the ETO soon becoming far more advanced than its foe behind the Curtain._

_Meanwhile, the Chimera slowly gained strength. Their virus infected any living being it came across, spread by crawlers, small bug-like creatures that bit and infected their victims. Soon they began excavating massive Towers, structures dozens of kilometers high, abandoned when the Chimera left Earth over 65 million years ago. In 1927, the Chimera began their attack on Russia. The Tsar saw this as a chance to gain power. Eager to enhance his forces with captured Chimeran Technology, he ordered the Russian army to attack and destroy the Chimera._

The screen soon showed dozens of bloody battles. Sanya watched in numb shock as Russians were gunned down in the thousands, their bolt action rifles near useless against the Chimera. Young men and women were dragged from their homes and hurled into the meat grinder, and were slaughtered, with the survivors and corpses being brought to Chimeran held territory to undergo conversion. Meanwhile, a small map of the world appeared, with parts of Russia rapidly becoming black, showing where the Chimera now reigned.

_But the Chimera, despite being heavily outnumbered, massacred any Russian army that opposed them. With many towns and villages left undefended, their numbers swelled as millions upon millions were converted. The Towers, now fully excavated, began churning out war machines to aid in the conquest. An attempt to render Russians immune to the Virus instead created a new enemy, the Cloven, humans driven feral by the early, prototype vaccine. Russia stood on the edge of annihilation. Still the Tsar refused to ask for aid. He was proud, and preferred the annihilation of his entire people to the humiliation of the West's aid._

_This brutal war continued for twelve years. The surviving Russians, soldiers and civilians, men, women and children alike trying to hold out against the Chimera._

_Finally, in 1939, the Russian people had had enough. In defiance of the Tsar's orders, the Red Curtain was opened, and millions were evacuated as quickly as they could be, startling the Europeans on the other side. Meanwhile, broadcasts were hurled across the planet, telling of the Chimera, their war machines, and the horrific war that had been waged in Russia. Soon everyone knew the truth: Humanity itself was under attack._

_Military and intelligence experts around the globe conferred, and agreed on one thing. The Chimera had to be stopped. Across the world, factories produced vehicles and munitions for the coming conflict. Even the United States of America, having isolated itself from worldly affairs came to aid the war effort. By 1941, a massive army from across the world marched into Russia to battle the Chimera._

The Witches stared in amazement as they saw millions of soldiers, tanks, planes, ships, and other war machines march into battle against the Chimera. They couldn't see how such a mighty army, so much more powerful than even the Allies forces combined , could fail. The next images, those of huge fields of broken human bodies and vehicles, killed those hopeful thoughts with sickening abruptness.

_It was a disaster. The Chimera had introduced even more deadlier weapons to the field. 150 meter tall Goliaths unleashed volleys of Spire Missiles, infecting millions of unprotected human soldiers. Even worse, the Chimeran hordes now numbered in the tens of millions, overwhelming the untried soldiers of the United Earth Defense. Soon it became obvious that Russia could not be held. The battle became a desperate attempt to evacuate as many as could be saved. Years of brutal, hellish warfare passed by as young men and women fought and died to save a few more precious lives. Across Eastern Europe, families were evacuated to safer areas, such as Africa, America, and Australia_

_Massive fortifications sprang up in every nation on Earth. Gun towers, missile sights, trenches, artillery batteries, anything that could be created by human or salvaged Chimeran Technology was made, to try to hold off the inevitable Chimeran advance on their land. By 1947, the last few civilians that could be saved had been evacuated. The Red Curtain was closed, leaving those few souls left inside to their fate. In August, 1948, a message came from all across Russia, repeated for weeks on end._

_"Brotherhood, strength and fortitude... in the face of the angry night."_

_Then all went silent, Russia was gone._

Sanya had tears leaking out of her eyes as all of Russia became black.

_For a year the Chimera remained hidden behind the Curtain, building their strength, while the UED prepared more defenses, evacuated more families, and recruited more soldiers in preparation for the coming storm. Then, on December 25th, 1949, Christmas day, it came._

The witches gasped as a massive wave of black erupted from the borders of Russia and began to engulf Europe and Asia.

_Countless Chimera burst out from the Red Curtain in a flood, every defense, every preparation, overrun in months. Poland lasted two weeks. Finland three. Germany, out numbered almost a hundred to one, managed to survive for a month. France held off the Chimera for a month and a half. Italy fell in four weeks. Spain, three and a half. Each area, lost, along with millions who would be converted into more Chimera._

Now almost everyone was crying. Eila stared as she saw Finnish soldiers desperately try and fail to hold their line against massive Chimeran forms. Gertrude, Erica, and Minna looked at the ruined city of Berlin, now swarming with Chimera, having just witnessed the last stand of Erwin Rommel and the Reichswehr. Perrine stared at the ruins of Paris, with a massive Chimeran Tower high above the skyline. Francesca cried as fields of corpses were displayed all across Italian soil. Bodies, so many bodies littered Europe, waiting to be used by the Chimera, as the black stains now spread onto all of Europe

_By June 7th, all of mainland Europe had been lost. The remaining UED forces retreated to England. For four months the island nation held, constantly attacked by the Chimera, defended by the Royal Navy, as fighter pilots from across the world fought in the skies to bring down Chimeran Dropships. Then, on November 5th, the Chimeran burrowed underground the Channel, and emerged across England, killing or converting anyone they came across. Bombing shelters became deathtraps as Crawlers snuck in. By the end of October the entire southern half of England had been lost. Protected by massive defensive works, the north held, but it was only a matter of time before it to was overrun._

Lynette sobbed quietly as London burned from Chimeran attacks. British soldiers fought off wave after wave of Chimera, whose numbers seemed endless. Then the screen changed to show British soldiers surrounding a metal cage.

_Then, on June 4th, 1951, a remarkable thing happened. British forces had managed to capture one of the Chimeran forms used as leaders, an Angel. This was the one chance mankind had to turn the tide, if they could study the Angel, they could pinpoint any weaknesses the Chimera had. On July 11, Operation: Deliverance began. Tens of thousands of American soldiers, supported by the combined United States and European fleets, launched an all out attack on southern England. Despite taking heavy losses, the UED pushed north, linking up with British forces. Even more critical to the success of the Operation was a new group of soldiers._

_The Sentinels, injected with a serum that made them partially immune to the Virus, the Sentinels quickly proved their worth. Led by Sergeant Nathan Hale, they overran a Chimeran base in Manchester, and slowly pushed back the Chimera. Meanwhile, studies of the Angel and experiences of the Sentinels led to a revelation about the Chimera. The Angels were the Chimera's weak link. If an Angel died, then all the Chimera it controlled would die with it. On July 14th, a joint attack was launched on London, where the Hub Tower was located. If a Chimeran Hub Tower was destroyed, all the towers it was connected to, along with all of the Angels inhabiting them, would be destroyed._

_While thousands of humans and Chimera fought in the streets, an elite team of soldiers infiltrated the tower, and destroyed its power source. A chain reaction ripped through England, annihilating almost every tower on the island. Without the Angels to control them, the Chimera on the island fell dead. England was free._

Now the witches began smiling as they saw images and videos of cheering soldiers and civilians, standing triumphant over the corpses of Chimera.

_It was the first major victory against the aliens. Encouraged by this success, and with knowledge of how to cripple their opponents, a counteroffensive was planned. On August 28th, 1951, Operation: Overstrike commenced. Joining up with surviving resistance forces across Europe, UED forces launched a massive airdrop and naval assault on Europe. Tower after Tower was destroyed or captured in the onslaught. France was liberated on September 9th. Germany was freed a week later. In Poland, resistance forces retook Warsaw on their own, and linked up with the approaching UED armies. Soon almost all of Europe was free again. Across Africa, human soldiers, now experienced with fighting the alien menace, pushed back the Chimera across the continent. Asian military forces fought against hordes of Hybrids across China. Even better, a virus infected the Chimeran Carrier strain, which had been used to carry the bodies of humans to be converted. It would take the Chimera weeks to recover and construct a new strain, weeks that humanity used well._

_However, not all went humanity's way. On December 15th, 1951, Spire missiles impacted across New England, and despite a desperate defense, within a month, the entire area was declared overrun. The remaining civilians were evacuated behind Defense Perimeters, where tall walls and towers armed with massive cannons kept the Chimera at bay. For a year, human and Chimeran forces fought across North and South America, where the fortifications built up over a decade held off countless attacks._

_Then, on January 5th, 1953, a massive Chimeran Airfleet, consisting of huge, skyline-spanning battleships crossed over from Russia into the Pacific. After laying waste to most of China, they turned their attention on Japan. As many civilians were evacuated, those who remained arms every living man, woman, and child, then battled the Chimera with all their bravery._

_It wasn't enough. By March, every living human in Japan was dead. The Japanese people had been wiped off the face of the Earth._

Yoshika cried as she saw her homeland infested with Chimera, Mio also had trouble keeping her emotions hidden, but her lips quivered and a few tears leaked out as she looked over the broken remains of Japan.

_On May 15th, the Chimeran Fleet reached the west coast of America, despite taking heavy losses, they overrun several Defense Perimeters, and battles raged across the continent. Soon, they reached Mexico, and began excavating the largest Tower ever seen. Desperate, the UED order the use of their most powerful weapon, the Atomic Bomb._

Shirley looked as America began to become covered in black, before a scene of the Chimeran fleet erupted into blinding light, leaving only ruins. Then the camera turned to New York, where a Tower emitted a huge beam before a massive hole appeared in the skyline.

_The Chimeran Fleet was destroyed, but the worst was not over. A massive Wormhole appeared over New York City. It began cooling the Earth to allow the Chimera free reign, as well as to kill humans with the freezing temperatures. Left unchecked, it would be a door to the Chimeran World, allowing tens of millions of the Pure Chimera through._

_The first several, desperate attacks on the Wormhole were repulsed, but on June 6th, 1954, the Tower was captured by a UED strike team. Even better, a vaccine had been discovered. Using samples taken from dead Sentinels about to finally succumb to infection, a protein that could kill the virus was made. Soon, millions were being inoculated, and became fully immune to the Virus._

Several of the witches began cheering as the black tide was pushed back all the way to Russia.

_The tide had turned. Across every continent, in every battlefield remaining, the Chimera were pushed back, from the United States to the borders of Russia, humanity, now immune, battle-hardened, and equipped with new technology, was winning. But the Chimera had had three decades to fortify Russia, and a full scale assault would have ended in disaster, so a new, more brutal plan was launched. On December 25th, 1960, thirty three years since the first large scale Chimeran attacks, hundreds of supersonic bombers were loaded with nuclear weapons, and sent on an attack to Russia._

Everyone gasped as Russia was suddenly lit up by massive explosions.

_Every stronghold found, every tower, every city, nothing survived. Russia became a nuclear wasteland, filled with ruins. The Chimera had been defeated. After thirty three years, and the deaths of three fourths of the human species, the war was over._

The video ended, and everyone was silent for a moment. The 501st looked and saw that all of the UED personnel in the room were completely silent, several were crying.

Jorges sighed. "Well, that's our history, one and a half billion corpses."

Everyone stared. How were they supposed to react? They had just seen war on a scale that was nightmarish. Millions dying in hopeless battles to buy time for others, it made their war with the Neuroi look like a minor food fight.

And bodies, _so many bodies_.

"I'm sorry." Minna whispered. Jorges smiled. "Don't be, you didn't start the invasion."

"E-Everyone in your Fuso... they're all dead.?" Yoshika whispered, stunned at what she had just witnessed. Jorges nodded. "Pretty much, aside from a few thousand evacuees, no one made it out of Japan." He gave a grim smile. "In fact, we had a version of you girls in the war. The 501st United Fighter Wing."

Everyone stared. "Really? What happened to them?" Erica asked.

Jorges winced. "Well, it isn't pretty, but here goes." He picked up a book and began listing names.

He pointed at Yoshika. "Kanayoshi Mutou, ace pilot from the Imperial Japanese Navy, Killed in Action during the fall of Los Angelas."

Lynette. "Billy Bishop, from the Royal Air Force. Killed in Action during Operation Overstrike."

Mio. "Saburo Sakai, Imperial Japanese Navy, Killed in Action in the fall of Japan."

Minna. "Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke, second in command of the 501st, Killed in Action during the fall of Berlin.

Perrine. "Pierre Cloistermann, French Air Force, Killed in Action during the fall of Berlin.

Francesca. "Franco Lucchini, Regia Aeronautica, Killed in Action during the Fall of New York."

Shirley. "Charles Yeager, United States Air Force, one of the two survivors of the 501st UFW."

Gertrude. "Gerhard Barkhorn, German Luftwaffe, Shot down in the Battle of Britan and infected. Later euthanized."

Erica. "Erich Hartmann, Commander of the 501st. Second and last survivor of the 501st."

Eila. " Eino Juutilainen, Ilmavoimat, Killed in action during the fall of Los Angelas."

Sanya. Jorges looked at him and sighed. "You're Orussian, yes? Your world's version of Russia?" Sanya nodded. Jorges sighed. "I'm sorry, but we have no record of anyone like you. In all likelihood, you were killed before you were given a chance to fight." Sanya looked stunned.

Everyone was silent again. They had been like family. To hear that only two of them had survived the war...

Jorges gave a grim smile. "No need to get grim now girls. You're all still alive. It's our job to fight for mankind. We're not gonna let another 501st get wiped out. You can be damn sure about that."

* * *

**A/N: I actually rolled a die to see how many members of the 501st would survive the Chimeran War. You just saw the results.**

**And now you know what's the AU for Resistance-verse, a bunch of Russian soldiers basically said, 'fuck the Tsar' and warned the rest of the world.**

**If there's anyone acting OOC without justification please tell me, and please review. Any suggestions or tips are welcome!**


	6. Reactions and Preperations

**A/N: Replies to reviews:**

**edboy4926: Kinda sad we both can honestly consider 75% of humanity being wiped out as an improvement isn't it? And yes, Japan does survive in canon, since you hear on the radio about Japanese resistance fighters attacking a Terraformer. However, in this verse, the Chimera launched their fleet at Asia before attacking America, to counteract how much better humanity was doing. In Resistance canon, the Americas were one of the very few safe zones left on the planet. Here, Japan ****_was _****another, hence the Fleet attack. Plus, it adds additional opportunity for angst.**

**fuji92: Glad to see that you like my fic, I'll try not to disappoint you. When you asked about yuri coming in, if it does, it won't be anything major, maybe a few pairings, but no lemons. Any tips you have for the story would be appreciated.**

**mastermind: The Chimera aren't even all dead on Resistance-Earth. There're still hordes of Ferals along with a few Military survivors. Feral Grims are so common they're considered part of the local wildlife! And of course then there are the thousands strong Widowmaker hordes.**

**Onward!**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Reactions and Preparations**

* * *

"_Merry Christmas, here's a gift from Berlin."_

_Anonymous B-70 Pilot during the Carpeting of Russia_

**April 8th**

**New York, UED Fleet Headquarters**

General Kerel winced as he read the reports from the Battle of Jupiter. "The entire fleet." He spoke acidly.

"Yes sir, the Fourth Fleet reports that the Third Fleet just vanished along with the Mothership. We believe that the Neumann was trying to escape, and the Third Fleet was caught up in the escape attempt. If they're still alive, they're most likely in hostile territory." Admiral Derrels reported grimly.

Kerel sighed. Over fifty ships had been lost fighting the Neumanns around Jupiter, leaving the UED Fleet at a fifth of its pre-war strength.

Still, it wasn't like taking heavy casualties was unknown to humanity. Besides, reports from across the Solar System could agree on one thing.

The Neumanns were retreating. With all of their Motherships destroyed they had no way to replace combat losses. Skirmishes would carry on for a couple more years, but realistically, the war was over.

Three years and only a couple million casualties, a far cry from the thirty three year Chimeran War that had left 1.5 billion humans dead or converted. Kerel looked at the reports again, and gave the Admiral a small smile. "At least the war's over now. We need to get the fleet back to full strength and more." He pulled out a file and took a few papers out. "Get word to the shipyards in Europe and Africa. Command wants a fleet of four hundred hulls, as well as colony ships and terraformers. When the Neumanns return, I want them to see humanity on every planet of the Solar System."

The Admiral looked at the plans for the new UED Fleet. "This is gonna take a few years sir, especially with resources going to some of the new SRPA gear."

"We've got time."

* * *

**September 7th**

**Vengeance of Japan**

Jorges was in the middle of negotiating with the various emissaries of the Allies, among which included several Military commanders and an Ursula Hartmann from Karlsland. "Well then, down to business. The Third Fleet of the UED will provide any assistance it can in defeating the Neuroi, in return for the supplies necessary for us to continue to operate. We will also provide you with assistance in Research and Development to produce new weapons to allow conventional forces to stand against the Neuroi."

The Allied diplomats nodded. One of them spoke up. "We are grateful for the assistance you have offered us. With your help, we will no longer have to rely on witches alone for results against the Neuroi. We may even be able to replace them entirely by the end of the war." A few of the people at the table frowned at the man's last remark.

Jorges was among them. This issue had been brought up more than once during negotiations. From what he could tell, many commanders resented having to rely on Witches, young females, for victory. This wasn't true across the entire military, but even so, inter-service rivalry was the last thing needed in the middle of a war of survival. "I'm afraid I don't see the point in phasing out witches. A military force should make use of all available assets to achieve victory. Even if new technology allows conventional forces to fight the Neuroi effectively, witches will still have a place in the war effort." He noticed that several of the other Allied commanders frowning at that statement. "But enough, negotiations are over. Miss Hartmann, I understand that you're here to examine our equipment?"

Ursula nodded. "Yes, I am here to see if your weapons can be replicated, or at least use what you know to improve our own."

Jorges grinned at the younger girl. "Excellent. Well everyone, I think that this meeting is over. Miss Hartmann, if you'll follow me?" Everyone got the hint and went their separate ways. Meanwhile Jorges and Ursula went onto one of the many platforms that took people throughout the ship, which quickly began moving toward one of the hangers.

Ursula turned her eyes away from the interior of the ship and turned to the Commander. "I would like to thank you for supporting the witches back there. Many leaders have a strong hatred for us."

Jorges shrugged. "Child soldiers played a big part of the Chimeran War. True that was because most of the adults were dead, but they proved their worth. In matters of survival, you can't be choosy. You're fighting for the survival of humanity as a species, as a soldier, I respect that."

Ursula winced. Like the rest of the Allied visitors, she had watched the documentary on the Chimeran war. It had been... sobering, to say the very least. The Neuroi were bad, but at least with them you didn't need to worry about the bodies of the fallen being turned into monsters. Most of the viewers were probably going to have nightmares over some of the scenes. "Regardless, thank you, it's nice to see you aren't like Maloney."

"Who?" Jorges asked.

So Ursula explained the story behind Maloney and his Warlock Project. Jorges quickly told her about the Armored Skirmisher, but reassured her that there were no Neuroi parts in it. He continued to describe it for the rest of the ride.

* * *

A couple hours later, Erica was still examining all of the various toys that the UED had brought with them. Between the jets, guns, missiles, shields, and energy weapons, she was having the time of her life. She was still checking over an HVAP Wraith given to her by the quartermaster a half hour ago when the alarm sounded.

Jorges cursed and quickly raised comms to the Bridge. "Status report!"

"Sir, we've got a massive wave of Neuroi inbound! ETA is 20 minutes!"

Jorges nodded. "I'll be up there soon. Launch all fighters and Armored Skirmishers and put fleet into defensive formation! Deploy Stalkers onto the deck for close range fire support!" He turned to Ursula. "I'm afraid I'll have to leave now. If you're a witch, I recommend you get ready for combat." Then he was off and running towards the lift.

Ursula stared at the Wraith in her hands, then back to the lifts, then to the quartermaster. "How fast can I get to my Striker?"

* * *

Alarms sounded across the ships as crew and fighter pilots once again raced to battle stations. Dozens of Stalker combat drones and Avengers were moved onto the top deck, ready to fire at the approaching horde. Gun-ports opened, hanger bays revealed squadrons of aircraft, and ECW suites activated.

The 501st, which had remained on the _Vengeance of Japan _while negotiations took place, quickly raced to equip their Strikers and launch. After hearing the fate of the UED's Earth and their own counterparts, they were happy to get a chance to relieve some stress.

Immediately after the 501st launched they found themselves surrounded by F-23's and F-111s from the UED, and were quickly hailed by Jorges. "All forces, hostiles number at 50 Stingrays with associated escorts, plenty of drones, and a whole variety of Customs. Take out anything that tries to hit the Fleet, these ships have taken enough damage as it is."

By now everyone could see the Neuroi fleet. Just like Jorges had said, there were 50 large types, and several hundred Mediums and Smalls. It was the biggest attack the Witches had seen in months, and every one of the things was headed straight for the Fleet. In response the missile tubes that still worked on the ships activated and locked onto the approaching large types, then opened fire. Over a hundred missiles hurled towards their targets. Over half of them were shot down before they impacted. Another fifteen hit lighter Neuroi that acted as an ablative shield. This still left over fourty to smash into the Large types' armor, and 13 of them went down as their cores were destroyed. Several fighter squadrons also launched long-range ordinance, and dozens of Medium and Small Neuroi were turned into dust.

The survivors quickly got into range and unleashed a hailstorm of lasers, which were quickly intercepted by the Fleet's answering volley. The sky became a field of red, as lasers mixed and cancelled each other. Even as the larger, shorter ranged guns of the Fleet turned on their enemies, the smaller Neuroi began engaging in their own battle with human planes and witches. The UED fighter pilots were used to fighting against the Neuroi, and this quickly became clear as the number of Neuroi dropped dramatically, with witches simply speeding up the process. The large-types fared little better, over half their number had been destroyed during the exchange.

Unfortunately, survival was not of great importance to these Neuroi.

Five of the remaining large-types burst towards the _Charlie Tent. _Three were destroyed by point defense fire, but the ship's crew and defenses had been surprised by this sudden move. The remaining two Neuroi slammed their hulls into the metal behemoth. Another Projectile Cannon battery was smashed apart, and another wound appeared in the ship's hull, belching fire as the ship reeled from the blow.

Immediately the comms were filled with shouts of surprise before a commanding voice cut in. "501st, cover the Fleet, we can't let anymore of those damn kamikazes hit!" Minna nodded and immediately sent a message to the rest of the girls. "You heard him everyone, cover those ships!" Immediately the witches along with a few dozen fighters broke off and burst toward the five ships, just as about half of the surviving lighter Neuroi did the same.

The airspace became a mess as several Neuroi made suicide attacks on human planes, sacrificing themselves to destroy a few of the UED's finite amount of fighters. Erica was taken by surprise as one of the drones slammed itself into her shield, sending her tumbling back as three Neuroi tried to take advantage of her temporary surprise. She quickly brought one down with a burst from her MG42. The other two managed to get a single shot off each at her shields before getting torn apart by an unexpected hail of gunfire. Erica gasped as her sister flew into view. "Ursula? What are you doing here? And what kind of gun is that?"

Ursula gave her sister a smile as she pointed the Wraith at an unfortunate drone, which quickly disintegrated. "I couldn't just leave you all to fight alone, could I?" She patted her gun lovingly. "_Especially_ not with _this_. The people back on the ship gave it to me." Erica gave a smile as the two witches went back to work. They quickly came across one of the Large types engaging a pair of jets. The twins looked at each other, nodded, and broke off.

"Sturm!"

"Sturm!"

The two sisters smashed into the Neuroi, making an X through it, and cleaving off large portions of the armor. They quickly did an about face and finished the core off with a quick volley. The pilots stared at the two. "Damn..." One of them whispered. Then she got back to work as the twins repeated the process on another Neuroi. Erica flashed her sister a grin as the two quickly whirled around, shooting at the drones chasing them.

Meanwhile the rest of the 501st had taken positions nearby the carrier, shooting down kamikazes, but even with all the fire around the ships, there were so many that a few managed to get through. One raked the deck and smashed apart three Stalkers, another slammed into one of the deck railguns. Then, the surviving dozen or so Large Types burst towards the _Vengeance of Japan_, disregarding everything else. Erica smashed through one's core. A missile exposed another one to be finished off by Ursula. Three more were destroyed by the other ships and fighters. That still left five to hurl themselves toward the carrier.

Then parts of the hull opened up to reveal a dozen Armored Skirmishers, which activated their hover-jets and opened fire.

All the witches stared in horror at the mechas. They were _Warlocks. _They'd seen these things before. Sure, they'd wiped out a good portion of the Neuroi in Gallia, but then they'd gone rouge and done the same. Sure it looked slightly different, but there were definite similarities, none of which brought back pleasant memories. Instinctively, they all pointed their weapons at the mechas. They stopped when they heard Jorges' voice over the radio. "Ladies, I introduce you to the Armored Skirmisher. Please try not to wreck them. We've only got so many."

The Skirmishers proceeded to let loose volleys of blue pulses and beams at the approaching foes. Armor burned off as the shots impacted. The 501st quickly shook themselves out of their stupor and began finishing off the weakened Neuroi. The mechas could wait. The remaining small and medium types were wiped out and the UED jet squadrons began pounding apart the last few Neuroi. Between the Skirmishers, witches, ship guns, and planes, the aliens barely lasted a few more seconds. Even as the last Neuroi was turning into dust, the 501st was staring as the Armored Skirmishers returned to their carrier. Minna sighed. Every time she thought she'd seen everything these newcomers, something new showed up.

* * *

**20 minutes post battle**

_**Vengeance of Japan **_

Minna stared at the Fleet Commander, along with the rest of the girls. "You have _Warlocks_!?" She asked incredulously, barely managing to keep from yelling.

"Well, not quite." Jorges responded calmly. "From what Ursula Hartmann told me, The Warlock was powered by a Neuroi Core, which caused it to become subverted by the Neuroi. The Armored Skirmisher uses no Neuroi parts. Instead, we took what we learned from studying destroyed Neuroi, combined it with what we already knew, and made our own, homegrown drone mecha."

Minna frowned. "So it's not vulnerable to the Neuroi?"

Jorges shrugged. "No more than anything else. Besides, you saw its combat performance. That was only a dozen of them. We've got sixty now."

"It certainly was effective." Minna relented. "But if it starts showing signs of Neuroification, we're shooting first, asking questions later."

Jorges smiled. "I would expect nothing less."

* * *

**A few hours later**

Jorges smiled as he gave the stack of files to Ursula. "Here you go Miss Hartmann. Blueprints for pretty much all mid Chimeran War tech. Your own production facilities should be able to handle these. I'm hoping to see F-86 Sabres, M12 Sabertooths, missiles, and storm rifles by the end of the year."

Ursula nodded. "You can count on us sir. These new inventions should help us turn the tide." She then realized that she was still holding onto the HVAP Wraith. "Oh, I think you'll want this-?"

Jorges chuckled and waved his hand. "Keep it, I'm sure you'll have far more use for it."

Ursula smiled gratefully, she had already grown very fond of her new minigun. Jorges returned her smile as she stepped back onto her transport, which took off back to New Karlsland.

He turned around and frowned as a SRPA Black Ops trooper came up. "Fleet Commander, Director Doorn wishes to see you."

Jorges frowned. "As you wish." This was either very good or very bad. SRPA usually kept to itself most of the time. Granted these weren't usual times, but still, it was unusual.

* * *

Jorges looked at the Director. "You wanted to see me Director?"

Doorn smiled at the Commander. "Ah, yes, I've just received news on the Allies' failed mecha project. The Warlock I believe?" Jorges nodded. "Excellent. Well, from all reports, it seems to have outdone our own Armored Skirmishers. The only problem was the Neuroi Core, but I believe that can be worked around. We certainly managed to find a way."

Jorges shook his head. "Director, please, what is it you want me to do?"

He smiled. "I want the Warlock. I want to find out how they made it, what their plans were for it, and whether we can modify it to our standards."

"So you want me to ask for the blueprints for the thing?"

Doorn's smile grew even wider. 'Of course, but I also want you to do one other thing for me."

* * *

**Dover, Britannian Military Base**

**September 11th**

Private Trevor Maloney sighed as he woke up that morning. He stared up at the ceiling as he remembered how he had got here. It had been so simple, trying to replace the Joint Fighter Wings with the Warlock. When the news had come of its first success, he'd been elated. For the first time since the war had begun, a non-witch unit had won without horrifyingly disproportionate casualties. He had been sure that with this victory, he could have created a new army to drive back the Neuroi to whatever hole they had crawled out of. Then of course everything had gone wrong. The Warlock had gone rogue, and destroyed the Akagi, killing the very people it had been created to protect. To add insult to injury, the 501st squadron, a group of witches, had destroyed it, and revealed that he'd been using money meant for the witches to fund the project. He'd been lucky they hadn't court martialed him, instead of merely demoting him.

But that wasn't the worst of it, no, the worst of it was that he had failed. He had overlooked every part of that project, seeing it as a new hope for humanity. Instead, it had become another Neuroi, another monster trying to destroy his country, his planet, and he had created it.

"Hey, _private_, if you're done moping around, there's someone who wants to see you." A man sneered at him from the entrance to the barracks. Maloney frowned, who would want to see a disgraced Air Marshall? "Who?" He asked.

The other man shrugged, some weird lad in all black, he's got his own private room for your pleasure, now get moving before I drag you out."

Maloney snarled and quickly walked out and followed the guard out of the barracks and into the main building. Sure enough, he was led to a room empty except for one man sitting at a desk. He looked up at the guard behind Maloney. "Thank you private, you can leave us now." He nodded and left, shutting the door behind him.

The man smiled as he looked at Maloney. "Sit down Private Maloney, there are a few things I wish to discuss with you." Maloney complied, and took a close look at him. He was wearing a pure black suit, but it had the letters SRPA on it.

Ah, he thought. These must be those newcomers he had heard so much about over the past few days. Everyone had been talking about them, their strange Chimeran enemies, and about their own world in general. He gulped, there was only one thing he could think of that they would be interested in from him.

"Trevor Maloney, former Air Marshall, and the creator of the Warlock Project, a Mecha designed to engage the Neuroi and to replace the JFWs. I represent the Special Research Projects Administration. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Maloney frowned. 'I wish the feeling was mutual sir, but I'm afraid I would feel more comfortable if you told my why you were here."

"Straight to the point, good. I am here because of the Warlock Project, and I have a few questions I wish to ask you, if you will let me." Maloney nodded. "Excellent, let us begin."

At first the questions were simple, birthdate, experiences, age, family, hobbies, etc. But eventually they moved into a darker territory.

"Maloney, I understand that you were taking funds meant for the JFWs and using them for your project. Might I understand why?"

Maloney winced. "The witches were doing perfectly fine with what they had. I thought that with extra funding my project could get underway on schedule, it was proving more expensive than anyone anticipated."

"That may be, but many have accused you of sabotage, of stealing resources from your nation, and intentionally weakening the war effort."

"Don't!" Maloney snarled, suddenly standing up. "Don't call me that! Call me anything else. Call me incompetent, call me a bigoted fool, call me an overambitious filth who couldn't look past his own profit, but DON'T call me a traitor!" He sat back down, one of his hands on his face. "I made the Warlock to _protect _humanity, not destroy it." He whispered.

The SRPA man nodded. "I see." His tone changed, it seemed more, respectful? "But why hate the witches? Why try to replace them? Surely you admired them for their role in saving humanity?"

Maloney nodded, giving a humorless grin. "Yes, at first, I did, for a few months." He looked the man straight in the eye. "I've heard about your Chimeran War. About what you were fighting, and about how hopeless it was at the start. The same could be said for us at the start. The Neuroi came without warning, without mercy. First Ostmark, then Karlsland, then Gallia. I saw it all. I saw dozens of planes take off to buy refugees time to escape, and see only a few return home. Every battle we fought was hopeless, it took dozens of dead pilots to kill of Large Type. It took a battalion of tanks to destroy a Heavy. But we still fought, what else could we do? We had friends, family, who were out there fighting. So we fought and died for them.

"Then the witches came in all their splendor. Brave girls, capable of taking down even the toughest Neuroi with ease. Oh yes, we were driven back still, but we had _hope_. We thought we could _win_."

He sighed. "But people kept dying, still hundreds of my men died trying to hold the line for the safety of thousands, of millions. But no one cared. Do you want to know why? The _witches_." He spat out that word. "There's a fleet of large types? Oh, just send witches. There's a squad who needs evacuation? Please, the witches can handle that. You need people to defend the city? Don't worry, there are witches who can deal with that problem. Every damn time we would fight, we would die. Before the witches came, we had the idea that we were doing something. We could see the fruits of our work. I saw all those people fleeing to Brtannia. Homeless, penniless, but they were _alive_. Alive because good men sacrificed themselves for them. But were our men honored after the witches came? Oh no, every good thing that happened was thanks to our brave flying girls. Was there any mention of half the Royal Navy going down with their ships to protect people evacuating at Dunkirk? Of course not, everyone was to busy thanking the witches."

He wasn't even paying attention to the man anymore, he was lost in memories."Every sacrifice we made, every inch we sold in blood, all of it seemed for nothing! If the witches were so grand, so unstoppable, why were we even fighting? What were all our sacrifices for? Had all those men died... for nothing? Every time I saw a witch I remembered those smug, arrogant faces. Those girls bragging about their hundreds of kills. So WHAT? What about the hundreds of our own fighter pilots who died? Why weren't they honored? Why weren't they remembered? Their sacrifices were worth something right? Surely they deserved some bit of thanks besides a grave and a 'Oh, we're sorry about the fallen, maybe next time you should let the _witches_ take care of things for you.'" There were tears running down his eyes. "I was sick of it. Sick of dead men. Sick of dead, unremembered soldiers."

He looked at the other man again. "It see." He said. Yes, there was definitely respect in his voice. "But why the Warlock? How would it have changed things?"

Maloney chuckled. "The Warlock was just the tip of the iceberg. Once it was proven successful, I would have gotten the funding I needed to work on other projects. We could have discovered how to make Neuroi lasers, regenerating hulls. Can you imagine that. I could have equipped every plane, every soldier, every ship with laser weapons and armor that repaired itself. Everyone could have taken the Neuroi in a fair fight. And make no mistake, we would have needed that edge. The witches couldn't do everything. With my projects, humanity could have driven the Neuroi not just off Earth, but out of the Galaxy." He sighed. "But that's impossible now."

"Not necessarily, Trevor." Maloney straightened and looked at the man, who continued speaking. "I said I represented SRPA correct? I am here to make you an offer."

"An offer?" Maloney frowned. Why would they want- His eyes widened. "You want me to join SRPA. You want me to help you."

He nodded. "Correct, your experience with the Warlock could be of great value to us. With your help, we could make those laser weapons and armor for every man. We have already recruited many of those who worked on the original Warlock."

Trevor frowned. "But why me? Why would you want me on your group. I'm not an engineer or scientist."

"Because you know those men. They all spoke highly of you. They to, wanted to make those laser rifles and regenerating armor. They wanted you because you inspired them to create something. You gave them hope that the average man could one day beat a Neuroi in single combat. And because I know you. I've read your dossier. You saw the Warlock as your own failure. You would have studied how it worked, how it was supposed to function, and how it failed. And a man willing to try and make up for a failure is infinitely more valuable than one simply trying to make another success."

Trevor smiled, and for the first time it was a genuine one. "Well then, sir, consider me recruited."

* * *

**Vengeance of Japan**

**September 12th**

IT had only taken a day to get the paperwork done and him transferred. Now he was onboard the most advanced ship in the world, staring at director Doorn.

"Project Administrator Trevor Maloney reporting for duty sir." He said, smiling. It was good to be back in the job.

Doorn smiled back. "Welcome to SRPA Trevor Maloney.

* * *

**A/N: I've noticed that Strike Witches fanfiction has a tendency to demonize Maloney. I can understand that. However, I wanted to do something different. I want to see if I can make Maloney at least somewhat sympathetic. Please tell me how I did.**

**Also, I will now be adding bits and pieces of the AU Resistance-verse at the end of chapters.**

* * *

_Codex:_

_War Trains: After the Chimeran War, the land between settlements became filled with Feral Chimera, making travel dangerous. To counter this, engineers constructed a series of large train tracks and bridges. On these tracks there would be several heavily armed and armored trains, with enough weapons to destroy even the powerful Widowmaker hordes. They are used to carry passengers from one town, city, or enclave to another, and are tough enough to survive heavy artillery and plasma barrages. Some even hold artillery batteries to shell Ferals from a great distance._

_Customs: While some Neuroi can be identified as uniform types, others are incredibly varied, and simply called Customs. Their attack and defense power varies._


	7. African Introductions

**A/N: Okay, to Fuji92 and GeaRMasteR9. If there is Yuri, it will take place a whole lot later in this fic, and after lots of suffering. I have an idea for a non-yuri pairing to take place... after lots of suffering.**

**Mastermind: The UED fleet was originally created to fight the Chimera, but then the Neuroi showed up. There _were _plans to use portals to launch on the Chimeran World, but humanity knew too little about the Pure Chimera and the wormholes to risk it.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

**September 16th**

**_Vengeance of Japa_n Mess Hall**

**On course to Africa**

"You have_ got_ to be kidding me!" Minna screamed as she dropped her tray in favor of pointing furiously at Maloney, while the rest of the witches glared at him with varying degrees of shock and hatred. Everyone else in the mess hall stared at the confrontation that was taking place.

And the previous few days had been going so well to...

* * *

**September 13th**

**501st HQ**

"Sir, are you sure about this?" Minna asked Air Marshall Hugo Dowding, who had been reinstated after Trevor Maloney had been removed.

The commander of the RAF nodded. "I'm sure, you've fought beside the UED before. You saw how desperate the Neuroi were to destroy them, they sent the biggest attack we've ever seen on Brittania just to try to take out those ships." He smiled. "Witches proved invaluable in stopping the Neuroi suicide attackers, and the 501st has the most experience. Besides, the UED fleet will be heading into hot-zones across the war, they'll need the best. You will also be our link to the UED, and we'll need to have constant contact with them if we want to win."

Minna's face reddened a bit at the compliment. "I'm honored sir, but who will protect Britannia once we leave, most of the other witches are forming up in Gallia, won't Britannia be defenseless?"

Dowding smiled. "With Gallia and the Atlantic secure, Liberon is sending us every spare tank and soldier they can. Several more witch squadrons are also coming along. Most will head to Gallia, but enough will come here that we'll be safe from any Neuroi attacks, especially after the blow they just took." He shook his head. "We're counting on you. We'll need the UED to stay with us if we want to drive the Neuroi from Earth. the 501st will be joining with several conventional fighter squadrons on the _Vengeance of Japan_." Minna gave a quick salute. "You can count on us sir." She replied.

* * *

**September 13th**

_**Vengeance of Japan **_

**One of the hangers on the port side of the ship**

Most of the port side of the_ Vengeance of Japan _had been destroyed by the Mega's beam in the battle for Jupiter. However, a few parts of the hull had been spared, such as this hanger, now being used by SRPA for the creation of the Warlock Mk II.

Maloney grinned as two familiar faces looked up from their work and went to greet them. "Nikola! Frank! What are you two doing here?"

Frank Whittle gave a chuckle as he shook his old commander's hand. "Oh, probably the same as you, Trevor. Some lad in a black suit comes up to you, as you walk around disgraced, and offers you a job with your old crew. How could I saw no?"

"Agreed" Tesla said in support, shaking Maloney's hand after Frank. "You got us through the first Warlock, now we're going to make an even better one." The Orussian scientist grinned. "Maybe this time we can get the Teleforce gun on one."

Maloney returned the grin at the mention of the Orussian's pet project. Tesla had originally proposed the Teleforce gun to Allied command, but had been refused the funding he needed. The same had gone for Whittle and his jet propulsion, though apparently the allies had changed their mind and had just started making Jet Strikers, despite Whittle having proposed pretty much the same thing three years ago. Maloney had taken both in and had done his best to make sure both could do their work.

So far, it had proven successful, Whittle's engines had gone into the Warlock as part of its propulsion. Tesla's Teleforce gun had been in the prototype stages when the first Warlock was produced. Of course, then the project had been shut down.

But now the team was back together. Maloney looked at the two. "Well then, now that we're all working together again, how about you show me what you've done with our new workshop?"

* * *

**September 14th**

_**Vengeance of Japan**_

Howin Yeager walked the 501st to their new rooms on the ship. "Glad to see you girls will be joining us, we've done good work together." The group moved over to a pair of rooms filled with bunk beds.

Everyone looked inside. "It's a little cramped..." Shirley muttered. Her alternate universe grandson shrugged. "We try to save space for weapons, armor, and ammo. You get used to it over time. We've just finished moving the previous occupants' stuff out, so it's all yours."

Yoshika blinked. "This was someone else's room? We can't just take it..."

Howin held up his hands. "It's fine, don't worry, the former occupants, ah... won't be needing the rooms anymore..."

Dead silence.

Howin coughed. "Anyway, my squadron's bunk is right over there." He pointed to a room a bit down the hall. "All the pilots meet in the Recreation Room nearby. Hope you'll drop by if you've got time, if we're going to be fighting together we should get to know each other better. You put your stuff in the compartments on top of your beds. And make sure you pack stuff _neatly, _you make a mess, you clean it up, this is a warship, we don't have room to spare." He glared pointedly at Erica, who stared at the teen soldier in horror. He grinned and walked towards his own room. "Have fun settling in!"

Most of the 501st went right to work putting their stuff into the compartments. A few minutes into their work Gertrude looked back and saw Erica still standing in place, her eyes wide, with her bags of possessions at her sides, their contents messily stuffed in. "Hartmann? Are you alright?"

Erica's jaw moved at bit. "_Help me_." She croaked.

* * *

**September 15th**

Together, Gertrude and Erica managed to get the later's stuff into the compartments in something resembling organization. That took most of the day, so after that the entire wing went into their new bunks. It was awkward sleeping in the new, more cramped quarters, but eventually the group managed to fall asleep.

The next day, the 501st was called to one of the many armories on the ship, where they were greeted by several soldiers and a relatively old man, who was about 40 years old. "Well then, you must be the 501st. I'm Quartermaster Martin Galm. Since you'll be operating with the UED for the near future, you'll be receiving UED weapons, to put a bit of ease on logistics."

He turned to a set of weapons neatly placed on the wall and picked up one. "Minna Wilcke, Erica Hartmann, Yoshika Miyafuji, Perrine Cloistermann, Francesca Lucchini, and Charlotte Yeager, you will be assigned the High-Velocity-Armor-Piercing Wraith. This minigun fires at a rate of 1200 Rounds Per Minute. It has a 300 round clip, and as an added bonus, can deploy a shield. Any questions?"

Minna raised her hand. "Um, we already have shields." Galm handed her a Wraith. "Yes, well now you have _two_ shields, and this one can deflect shots back at the user. There's a firing range for you all to practice on once I finish handing out the rest of the weapons."

"Lynette Bishop, you have been given the Type 62 Gauss Rifle. This big baby's designed to fire .50 caliber rounds at multiple times the speed of sound. Its scope can see through solid objects, so you should be able to see right where the core is on a Neuroi. Secondary fire sends electromagnetic pulses into your brain, increasing your reaction time to the point where it seems that time has slowed. Don't worry, it's harmless to you." Lynette held the rifle gingerly as Galm turned to Eila and Gertrude.

"Since you, Gertrude Barkhorn, prefer to duel wield, and you, Eila Juutilainen, likes using an SMG, we've picked the Bullseye Modified 0005 Razor. This energy weapon fires at a rate of 900 RPM, and as an added bonus, the shots automatically lock on, track, and chase after hostiles. Secondary fire uses some of the weapon's 70 round battery to charge up a homing energy blade, the more charge you sink it, the more powerful the blade. It's easily portable, so you can hold plenty of ammo for it."

"Mio Sakamoto, you are fond of using your sword in battle. With that in mind, we are giving you the Reaper Carbine. Like the Razor, it has an auto lock on feature, but has a faster firing rate and is a one-handed weapon. You shouldn't have any trouble with it."He then picked up a large missile launcher and looked at Sanya.

"And finally, Alexandra Litvyak, you have been issued the Multiple-Autonomous-Missile-Launcher, or MAML, for short. This weapon holds six missiles that can track multiple targets at the same time. Mark them in the sights with the button here, and the launcher will launch a missile for a target each time you press it. Of course, you can always just dumb-fire if you need to shoot fast. Of course, each of you will also get the standard UED sidearm, the HE .44 Magnum. As its name suggests, it fires .44 rounds that can be remotely detonated for extra oomph." He passed out the pistols and pointed to a room farther down the hallway. "Firing range is over there, have fun ladies."

The 501st certainly had a great deal of fun using their new weapons. After they got used to the new functions, they quickly learned that the new weapons were far more devastating than anything they had used before. They couldn't wait to try them out for real.

* * *

**September 16th**

**_Vengeance of Japan_ Mess Hall**

**On course to Africa**

The 501st spent the next few days getting settled into their new homes. Meanwhile Maloney had united with the rest of his old team from the first Warlock, and soon both groups had settled into a familiar routine. Even as the two groups settled in, new faces arrived as several squadrons of conventional fighters landed on the _Japan_. Other supplies quickly arrived at the carrier over the next few days, and soon the fleet had been loaded with soldiers, equipment, and vehicles, all bound for the battle in Africa. The hot spots in the war with the Neuroi now were in Africa and Orussia, and according to the Fleet Commander, "The day a UED soldier helps the fucking _Tsar _is the day the Chimera come to Earth for ballerina lessons."

Needless to say, it was clear that pretty much all of the UED hated the idea of helping the Tsar. Then again, considering the Tsar's history in their time it was a little hard to blame them.

Either way, Africa was closer, and the UED had been perfectly happy fighting in a desert. So the fleet had been filled with hundreds of Liberion Shermans and Britannian Crusaders and Churchills, a few Gallian Char B1s, to name only a few. Even more space had been taken up by loads of supplies to deliver to the humans fighting in Africa.

The ship had just left a couple of hours ago when a rather unfortunate encounter occurred. Maloney had gone to the mess hall to eat with his crew and some of the new pilots. A bit later the 501st had gone to the same mess hall to eat. Minna had been walking out of line when she caught sight of Maloney, leading to the above.

Maloney calmly swallowed his ration before answering. "Well, I _was_ eating, but now I'm talking to the girl who rudely interrupted that."

Minna snarled. "Very funny Maloney. Shouldn't you and your goons be in a jail cell somewhere, instead of on a ship?" The rest of the 501st moved up behind her, while Maloney's friends and co-workers along with most of the fighter pilots stood up in defense of their leader.

Maloney's gaze hardened. He was about to answer back when a group of soldiers broke into the argument. "Alright, Alright, break it up people. Both of you, get your people under control."

Maloney glared, then nodded and sat down, with everyone else at the table doing the same.

Minna turned to the sergeant. "With all due respect, do you know what this man did? What is he doing on this ship?"

The man shrugged. "From what I heard he's in charge of SRPA's latest project, way above my pay grade though."

Minna's jaw dropped, along with the jaws of every member of the 501st. "Someone put him back in command?" Mio asked, not sure she'd heard correctly.

The sergeant nodded. Minna blinked, then began walking out of the mess hall. "If you'll excuse me, I need to talk with Commander Jorges." She said, her voice icy.

* * *

**Vengeance Of Japan Bridge**

"You put _Trevor Maloney_ in command of another Warlock!?" Minna practically yelled at Jorges. "Do you have any idea what happened to his last try at that?"

"Actually yes." Jorges responded calmly. "I read his dossier, the recruiter's interview with him, and his entire damn life story. I think he deserves another chance."

"Another-" Minna sputtered. She wasn't sure if she could believe what had happened over the last hour. She had no idea what the interview had entailed, but after seeing the man who had nearly decommissioned the 501st and gotten hundreds killed with his project, she didn't really care. "Another chance!? Sir, the first Warlock killed sixteen hundred men! Why on Earth would you give him the chance to make another one of those... things!?"

Jorges sighed. "Very well." He stood up. "But keep this in mind, what you're about to learn must never be told to another soul, even on the pain of an agonizing death. Do I have your word, as a soldier, that you will take this truth to the grave if need be?"

Minna gulped, but curiosity made her nod. "I swear."

Jorges nodded, and took her to the conference room, where he turned on a video. It showed the UED's battles with the Neuroi from their world. Minna stared at the dizzying images of thousands of Neuroi, each one larger than most Large types. Nukes, lasers, projectiles and pulses were traded as ships on both sides were blown apart. She stared at the battle scenes for a long time.

A shockship was pounded by a thousand Neuroi, finally collapsing as its reactor went critical.

An entire moon was devoured to fuel the creation of more Neuroi to attack Earth.

Hundreds of Neuroi disintegrated as a volley of nukes impacted.

A Blazer vanished as a Mega's main gun fired.

Squadrons of Armored Skirmishers and Neuroi drones fought and weaved through fire.

The Prometheus Weapon obliterated an entire fleet.

It went on and on, battle after battle, more firepower than the entire war between the Allies and the Neuroi was expended in minutes.

When it ended, Minna simply stared, open-mouthed.

Jorges looked at her. "That's why we need the Warlocks. Those battles you've fought so far? You've just been fighting a fraction of the Neuroi's true power." He shook his head. "For whatever reason, they're holding back. If they truly wanted to destroy humanity in this world, they would have done so by now. They would've bombarded the planet from orbit, stripping it of its atmosphere, or sent in their massive harvesters to devour entire continents, and there wouldn't have been a damn thing anyone could have done to stop them."

He took a deep breath. "Do you understand? This must never be revealed to the public. If people discover that they're only alive because the Neuroi are _holding back_, morale will drop into the fucking basement. Do you swear, on you life, never to show this information?"

Minna blinked, then nodded quickly, still in shock from the images. "Good." Jorges gave her a smile. "I'm not asking you to marry Maloney, just tolerate him. Just tell your girls that he's working for a group that's technically outside of my control, you won't be lying. When the Neuroi start playing for keeps, we'll need everything we can get. Who knows? Maybe someday one of Maloney's inventions might save your life."

That idea was almost more terrifying than the Neuroi, but Minna knew a losing battle when she saw one. She nodded grimly. "Yes sir."

* * *

**September 18th**

**Africa**

**_Vengeance of Japan_, above Allies main base**

It was almost a relief when the Fleet arrived in Africa. While there hadn't been any armed battles of the ship, the tension between the 501st and Maloney's project workers was running incredibly thick. The only reason the conflict hadn't escalated was because several shipguards had been assigned solely to break up any fights, which had increased in number over the past couple of days. So everyone was only too happy to have the chance to relieve some pent up frustration on the Neuroi.

Skyrangers quickly began deploying the vehicles and soldiers of both the Allies and the UED down onto the ground. Several jet squadrons set up Combat Air Patrol around the Fleet. Meanwhile, a plane carrying the Allied Commanders landed on the deck of the Carrier, where they were quickly brought to the Bridge.

Jorges smiled at the men. "Ah, hello gentlemen. I'm Third Fleet Commander Holtz Jorges. Welcome to the Vengeance of Japan. The Third Fleet is here to assist you people in taking back Egypt and the Suez Canal."

Montgomery and Rommel smiled back. Rommel went first. "Excellent, I'm Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, and this is Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery. It's good to have some support. We've been planning to take back Africa for some time now, but our last attack a month ago was defeated quite handily."

Jorges nodded, and motioned to one of the bridge bunnies, who quickly turned to a large table, which in turn formed a holographic map of the world, and zoomed in to the immediate area, showing small flags that represented UED and Allied forces in blue, along with several white dots on the edge of the map, which continued to expand slightly.

Jorges grinned and the baffled looks on the Allied Field Marshalls. "This is our Strategy Map, or the minimap, as the grunts like to call it. We use high altitude recon drones, ground command vehicles, wet navy vessels and the ship's own sensors to map out areas in real time. Back on our world, the entire network was linked we could also use satellite signatures and the sensors of other fleets to get a pretty good picture of the entire world. The white dots are our recon drones, and any red will show Neuroi."

The two Field Marshalls nodded. "That's... quite impressive Commander." Montgomery stated. "What kind of ground and air forces can you provide?"

Jorges brought up a list. "Well, there is most of the 17th and 23rd Mechanized infantry and a few parts of the 4th Armored that were on board for repairs and tuning up when we got lost, along with our own Shipguard. We've got a David Superheavy tank, about 30 Osorio Main Battle Tanks, 80 Stalkers, 60 Armored Skirmishers, 150 Lav IIIs, a couple hundred Buffels, maybe 40 Avengers, a dozen M270s, about two dozen G6s, three Inquisitor Command Vehicles several thousand combat drones of various types, and a few thousand infantrymen. Our ships are also loaded with troops, vehicles and munitions from Liberion and Britannia. For air power we-"

He was cut off as an alarm sounded from the table. Several blobs of red had appeared and rapidly began approaching one of the blue flags, while even more began advancing along the entire Allied defensive line.

"Sirs!" One of the Bridge crew exclaimed. "Neuroi signatures detected all along the front line, both air and ground units. Half of their force has surrounded the Liberion II Army Corps."

Montgomery paled. "Damn, that's Patton's unit, he went out to inspect the troops."

"Then we'll have to pull him out of the fire. Scramble all planes and witches, and get the Skyrangers to drop the rest of our armor on Patton's location. Everyone else will reinforce the defensive line. "Jorges quickly turned on the inter-ship comms.

"GENERAL QUARTERS! GENERAL QUARTERS! ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS!"

* * *

**Outside the Carrier**

Outside the forces that had already landed quickly deployed to the front line. The Osorios and Lav IIIs quickly began moving to their positions, while infantrymen piled into Buffels and LAVs to get to the combat zone. Artillery began moving into positions to deploy. Squadrons of Skyrangers loaded with vehicles and men began moving towards the II Corps. over 60 fighters, including Wolverine Squadron, an AWACS and the 501st moved out to protect the Skyrangers.

"This is Airborne Warning and Control System Overseer, I'll be your guide for today. Strike Witches and all fighters, those Skyrangers are carrying the rest of the 4th Armored and 17th Mechanized towards the II Corps. They are precious cargo, do NOT let the Neuroi shoot them down, take the hits for them if you have to."

"Understood Overseer, we'll keep the transports safe." Minna responded, with similar statements coming from the rest of the fighters.

The flight continued for a few minutes before a warning came. "Heads up pilots, we've got two dozen Large Type Neuroi heading in on attack vectors, ETA 2 minutes. Get ready ladies and gentlemen."

"Copy that Overseer, give us a lock and we'll thin their ranks." Howin cheerfully stated.

A few seconds later, the sky was filled with hundreds of missiles streaming towards their targets.

* * *

**UNIT 01 OF FORMATION 8042 OPERATING ON FARMING PLANET 9865 OF UNIVERSE 2012 LAUNCHING ASSAULT ON HOSTILE FORCES. OPPOSITION CONSISTS OF 11 HUMAN FEMALES OF DESIGNATION FARMERS FROM PLANET 9865 OF UNIVERSE 2012, 60 COMBAT AIRCRAFT OF PLANET 9865 OF UNIVERSE 2015, SINGLE COMMAND AIRCRAFT AND 40 TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT OF PREVIOUS WORLD AND UNIVERSE.**

**ERROR. HOSTILE FORCES CONSIST OF UNITS FROM SEPARATE UNIVERSES.**

**ANALYSIS: FORCES OF UNIVERSE 2015 HAVE BEEN TRANSPORTED TO UNIVERSE 2012. RESUMING STANDARD COMBAT SYSTEMS**

**TIME UNTIL ENGAGEMENT: 1/1440 OF PLANETARY ROTATION.**

**WARNING. 1/2 OF FORMATION 8042 DESTROYED BY UNIVERSE 2015 CRAFT VIA LONG RANGE GUIDED PROJECTILES.**

**NOW CLOSING WITH HOSTILE FORMATION. TARGET PRIORITY: UNIVERSE 2015 TRANSPORTS.**

**WARNING. FORMATION 8042 HAS BEEN REDUCED TO 25% NUMERICAL STRENGTH. HOSTILE FATALITIES CONSIST OF 2 COMBAT AIRCRAFT OF UNIVERSE 2015.**

**IRRELEVANT. CONTINUE ASSAULT. INDIVIDUAL LOSSES INSIGNIFICANT. HOSTILE NUMBERS FINITE.**

**ANALYSIS OF HUMAN UNIT FARMERS: FARMERS HAVE ENGAGED FORMATION 8042. USAGE OF AMBIENT ENERGY IS HIGH. NOTICE: FARMERS ARE EQUIPPED WITH INFANTRY WEAPONRY FROM UNIVERSE 2015. BLEEDOFF OF ENERGY HIGH. ENRICHMENT OF LAND PROCEEDS AT HIGH OUTPUT.**

**NOTICE: UNIT 01 HAS SEVERELY DAMAGED COMBAT AIRCRAFT OF UNIVERSE 2015. NOTICE: COMBAT AIRCRAFT NOW ON COLLISION COURSE WITH UNIT 01. BEGINNING EVASIVE MANEUVERS.**

**ERROR: AIRCRAFT HAS CORRECTED APPROACH. STILL ON COLLISION COURSE. DISTANCE: 2000 METERS**

**ERROR**

**1500 METERS**

**ERROR**

**800 METERS**

**ERROR**

**200 METERS**

**ERRORERRORERRORERRORERR-**

The large Neuroi was annihilated as the pilot slammed his mortally wounded F-111 into its core, going up in a massive fireball.

* * *

**II Corps location**

**601st Tank Destroyer Battalion**

In military terms, the situation could accurately be described as "Fucked".

The II corps was completely encircled by Neuroi ground forces, which were only being held back by volleys from anti-tank weapons, while Neuroi air forces continued to pound them from the sky, the surviving soldiers were firing desprately in all directions, tank guns roared and lasers streaked out in reply. Infantrymen screamed in agony as their limbs were disintegrated.

Oh and General Patton's jeep had been wrecked, with him crouched behind its smoking shell, firing is revolver at the Neuroi, while the three Patton's Girls and several anti-tank guns did likewise.

"Damn it, we're getting our asses handed to us, do we have any word on reinforcements?" He screamed to a nearby radioman.

"No idea sir! Everything's a mess right now, but I'll see what I can do!" He shouted back.

At that moment a laser beam sent two crewmen of a nearby 57mm tank gun screaming as they were incinerated, leaving the gun without a loader.

"Shit!" He glanced at the advancing Neuroi, then burst out towards the gun, firing along the way, until he had reached the gun. He quickly picked up a shell. "Sir!" The gunner protested.

"You just keep firing that gun soldier! I'll be your loader for now!" The gunner nodded, the gun resumed firing.

A Heavy went down as a dozen anti tank rounds impacted into its hull. In response, a nearby M10 exploded from several powerful beams. Several more rounds punched open Neuroi hulls, but it was clear that the II Corps was being overrun.

Then the radioman started yelling. "Sir! I've got backup, they say they'll be here in a few minutes! We've gut got to hold on!"

Those few minutes seemed like an eternity as lasers continued to blast at the human positions, but just as one laser blew apart a nearby 37mm a volley of rockets and missiles tore into the Neuroi, and from above a few dozen transports began dropping off their cargo.

A half dozen Osorios were dropped, as well as about 50 LAV IIIs. Hundreds of infantrymen deployed, armed with Augers, HVAP Wraiths, Ion beam cannons, and Rockets and missiles. An Inquisitor quickly deployed and began setting up shop. But the big prize was a David Superheavy tank. As it touched down, it immediately began moving towards the Neuroi Heavies. Its Mega laser cannon tore through ones armor and core in an instant, while railgun batteries brought down another, then a volley of missiles came out of its launchers and blew apart a Large Type overhead. Osorios flanked it, forming a armored spearhead, while LAV IIIs covered their rears, their twin Hellfire cannons spewing plasma pulses in a constant stream, melting right through any armor they encountered. Meanwhile the infantry organized into companies and advanced, with Wraith users powering on shields to protect their comrades, while the Neuroi were taken by suprise as Auger shots blatantly ignored armor in favor of simply destroying their cores.

The Neuroi in the air did no better, armed with new UED weapons, the battle was a curbstomp. Lynette found that with her new rifle's scope and time slowing, she could take out large Neuroi with ease, and HVAP Wraiths, Razors, and the Reaper raked through Neuroi hulls like they were made of paper. The MAML locked on to six different small types, and destroyed them all in seconds. Each Witch had at least a dozen new kills in her name, and the fighters were just making it easier.

General Patton stared at the site, the situation contained enough for the guns to stop firing. "Damn." He muttered, then walked over to find the leader of this bunch.

* * *

_**Vengeance of Japan**_

**Bridge**

**Nighttime**

Battles along the main Allied line ended in similar ways, and not just because of UED ground forces. Across the skies F-111s and A-10s tore apart entire formations. A-10s proved near impossible for the Neuroi to destroy or even severely damage, and B-70 Valkyries tear through distant positions before their targets could react.

Eagle VTOL Gunships fired anti-tank missiles and rockets across the desert, and after a few hours of grueling combat the battle was won, and the loss of so many forms allowed a general advance, and soon the Allies were on the outskirts of El Alamein. There Auger armed squads fired through buildings and cover as their rounds emerged to rip apart Neuroi cores, and with the support of a very encouraged Allied army the entire city was secure.

By the end of the day the commanders and soldiers on both sides were congratulating each other, both sides impressed with the other. The Allies were amazed by UED technology and skill, while the UED was very impressed that the Allies were able to fight the Neuroi with technology that they considered 50-year old relics.

General Patton grinned at the other leaders. "Well, I think I can safely say that this has been the single most productive day I've ever had! By the end of the week we'll be at the Suez Canal!"

Jorges nodded. "I hope so General, the sooner the Canal's open again, the sooner we have a secure supply line to and from Fuso. Speaking of which, what do we know about the Neuroi fortifications there?"

Patton shrugged. "Not much, I'm afraid, they put a Hive there a few months ago, and anyone who got too close to the Canal never returned, but we're pretty sure that they have a few Ultras and Neuroified field guns and artillery pieces, but how many we won't know till they start shooting."

Jorges sighed. "Well then, I've sent over some recon drones to get a closer look, so we should have a decent idea next morning. Right now we should all get some rest for the big push tomorrow."

Everyone nodded and left, feeling very optimistic about the following day.

* * *

**Next Morning**

Jorges walked in on the Bridge crew muttering to themselves. "What's going on here people?" He frowned. Normally the crew would be dutifully at their posts, not whispering to each other with frightful expressions.

They all looked at him, then back at each other, each one seeming to be begging someone else to explain. Then one girl stepped forward. "Well sir, the Eagle Eyes came back from their recon, and they got quite a few images. There are several Neuroified tanks and field guns and Ultras but that's not the main problem."

Jorges raised his eyebrows.

"S-sir, the Neuroi are digging something out there, so we ordered one of the drones to get a closer look. It was destroyed , but we got these images before we lost it sir, take a look." She pressed some buttons and a nearby holoscreen showed the picture.

Jorges looked at the image and paled.

There, a third of the way excavated, was a Chimeran Tower, on the exact same coordinates as one that had been placed on their Earth.

* * *

_Codex:_

_F-111: The F-111 is a slap in the face to those who say you can't please everyone. The F-111 is a highly versatile craft that can fit a number of roles, from electronic warfare to air superiority to strategic and tactical bombing. Just like all UED vehicles, it comes equipped with an energy shield projector. Mach 1.8 capable_

_B-70 Valkyrie: The B-70 is the most famous bomber in history, capable of going over Mach 3.5 and staying there for quite some time. It's most famous role was in the carpeting of Russia, where hundreds of these bombers dropped nuclear bombs on every fortified Chimeran position in the destroyed nation. Its advanced computer allows it to drop its ordinance without ever leaving its high speed, allowing it to strike fortifications with near impunity._

_R-95 Eagle Eye: A UAV designed for reconnissance purposes, the Eagle Eye can record in real-time and transmit what it sees back to its command ship, a nearby AWACS, or an Inquisitor Command Vehicle._

_Buffel: The APC for UED, the Buffel is a versatile, mine-protected transport normally armed with a rapid-fire pulse cannon, but can be customized. It is also known as the "Piss-mobile", since for a quick refuel, soldiers can simply use urine as gas for the APC, since it only requires water._

* * *

**A/N: Well edboy4926, you wanted to know if there were Chimeran Towers on Earth... the answer is yes.**

**I chose to make the Fleet go to Africa for reasons that will become painfully apparent later in the fic.**

**For now, review, if anyone was OOC, let me know so I can fix it, and tell me what you enjoyed and what else you would like to see.**


	8. Towering Demands

A/N:** Right then, my first trimester finals are done, so let's get started.**

**Maroon567: Unfortunately Maloney having a daughter would make a future part of my story invalid, sorry. It's a good idea though, maybe you or someone else can make a fanfic for it. Also, SRPA isn't trying to make the Warlock with a Neuroi core, it's trying to make one without a core, so there's no chance of Neuroification, though SRPA is trying to find out how to use cores without that danger.**

**Of course, social interaction has never been one of my strong points, so I'm not quite sure on how to write one. Any tips?**

**And Begin.**

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Towering Demands**

* * *

_"During the Chimeran War, all humans were equal. Equally Screwed."_

_A remark that succinctly describes what happened to racism and sexism during the Chimeran War. For the most part._

Jorges would have liked to say that his mind was instantly focused, that he immediately went about trying to figure out how to counter this new development, that he reacted in the way a soldier of the United Earth Defense should.

Unfortunately, his main thoughts as he looked at the tower were along the lines of "_OhshitOhshit there's a fucking Chimera Tower right there we'resofucked._"

After that he took a deep breath and managed to calm down. He turned to the bridge crew, his face still pale. "Is it active?"

The girl who had given him the report shook her head. "No sir, it's only about a third of the way excavated, so they shouldn't have been able to get to any of the factories and converters on it, but, all the same sir, under UED protocol, no Chimeran Tower can be allowed to remain in enemy hands."

Jorges nodded, his face set. "I know that as well as anyone. Inform the rest of the Fleet. Tell them we are operating on Emergency Threshold 3 from now on, and get the rest of the Allied Command here, I want as much support as we can get to take this tower, and make damn sure that people start looking for the rest of them. If there's one, there could be dozens more."

* * *

To say that the discovery of a Chimeran Tower had put the UED soldiers on alert was like saying the ocean was a bit large. Across the Fleet soldiers went into their drills and repairs with a fervor unseen since the Chimera War. Seeing a Tower had sent the Fleet into a frenzy, as more weapons, drones, and new armor plating was created in the Carrier, as the rest of the soldiers prepared for the attack on the Tower.

"Come on everyone! We're launching the attack in the afternoon, and I want every last one of you layabouts ready! We're taking that Tower now!" Howin Yeager screamed as pilots and crewmen prepared fighters and bombers for the soon-to-be-launched campaign.

"A little excited are we?" Shirley asked her relative, staring at the fanatical effort being put into their work. She had never seen anyone in the Fleet this determined. Crewmen who would normally be joking around and smiling had their faces set in lines as they worked. There was no smiles, no amused glances, just determined effort being put into getting everything 100% combat ready.

Howin momentarily stepped back from his fighter and sighed. "Shirley, we're about to launch an assault on a heavily fortified position held by an alien race that assimilates any captured technology, and is currently in the middle of excavating a 65 million year old tower made by another alien race powerful enough to open portals that connect worlds across time and space, and if we don't win this next battle there's a good chance that said alien race may pop out and exterminate all life on Earth.

So yeah I'm a little excited."

Shirley winced as Howin talked. "The Chimera were that bad?" She asked.

Howin sighed. "They were actually worse, people consider the U.S. lucky for surviving with _only_ 30 million dead. I grew up learning how to shoot Ferals trying to attack my home. When I was in my teens I would be flying one of our town's Biplanes, shooting and bombing local packs. And those are the Ferals, when I joined the UED, I fought a few Military Chimera holdouts in Russia. They weren't a pack of beasts, they were a well equipped army of the toughest Chimera ever, the ones tough enough to survive the Carpeting." He stared straight into Shirley's eyes. "If we don't take that Tower, who knows what could happen? An entire army could be unleashed on this Earth, we know the Chimera have conquered worlds before Earth. Hell, we had a much more advanced tech base than your people, and the Chimera started off as a small outbreak in a village, and it was still a damn near thing, what happens if they decide to skip to shoving a giant fleet through a portal?"

"We'll fight it." Shirley said firmly, putting a hand on Howin's shoulder. "We've fought aliens before, we'll do it again. You already said you beat them thirty years ago, and now we know they're coming. They won't take anyone else, if they come, we'll all be ready and waiting, and we'll beat them so badly they'll never be able to hurt anyone ever again." She grinned. "And when this is all over, you and I are gonna have a race. Me in a jet striker and you in your plane, and we'll see who's the fastest. Deal?"

Howin grinned back. "Deal!"

* * *

**September 19th**

**Outskirts of Suez**

**Near Chimeran Tower**

_"To arms, under one banner_

_As a unit we stand and united we fall_

_As one, fighting together_

_Bringing an end to the slaughter"_

_Sabaton - Union_

The desert was filled with the sound of engines as the Allied army advanced. Liberion Shermans and Lees, Britannian Crusaders and Valentines, Karlsand Panzer IIIs, IVs, and Tigers, Gallian Char B2s and D1s and SOMUA S35s, and Romagnan P 26/40s and Semovente 75/18s. Spearheading the advance were the tanks of the UED 4th Armored, while transports drove safely behind the mass of armored vehicles alongside dozens of witches. Up in the sky the ships of the Third Fleet cast massive shadows down on the ground while a couple thousand planes flew overhead, from bombers to Skyrangers and fighters, while many more witches flew in their Striker Units. Along the Gulf of Suez, over a hundred ships from Fuso, Britannia, and Liberion leveled their guns and bombarded targets on the shore. The Allies had been told bluntly that the cost of failure here could be the destruction of humanity, and every asset in the area had been called in to fight.

Facing them were countless Neuroi, from towering walkers to aerial forms to Neuroified field guns and tanks, each armed with powerful lasers all over their bodies. In the sky above the city hovered a massive black cloud, hiding a Hive and most of Suez from sight, as even more Neuroi emerged from it. Towering over the city, also hidden in the cloud, was a Chimeran Tower, only partially excavated.

The battle opened as artillery emplacements sent down a rain of fire upon the front ranks of the Neuroi. Shells and rockets alike saturated the entire field, as hulls were ripped apart by ordinance. At the same time the 3rd Fleet's ships opened up with volleys of ion beams and missiles tearing apart several of the larger Neuroi. Then the mass of Armor burst towards the aliens, firing masses of shells at their targets, as planes charged towards their targets, loosing missiles and firing guns, and infantry disembarked and advanced, and anti-tank guns were deployed. Soon the Neuroi responded with volleys of laser beams. The shields of the UED vehicles and the witches protected them from the return fire, but dozens of Allied tanks and aircraft exploded as beams found their mark.

Battle was joined across the front line, as thousands of tanks and planes and hundred of thousands of men fought and died battling thousands of Neuroi. Squadrons of Allied bombers began runs on the Neuroi ground forces, with F-111s and A-10s launching missiles, destroying the field guns that would have made such an action suicide. the David Superheavy pummeled an Ultra into submissions, as beside it its escort of Lav IIIs and Osorios blasted away at other, smaller Neuroi. Swarms of Allied planes engaged in dogfights with Neuroi Small and Medium types, while witches handled the Large types. B-70 bombers burst forward, destroying formations before returning to their carrier to rearm, moving too quickly for the Neuroi to shoot them with any accuracy. Tanks from the various nations blew apart other Neuroi on the ground, as did the now deployed anti-tank guns and well-equipped infantry, and artillery barrages scoured entire grids clean, leaving nothing more than massive craters. Swarms of Assault Drones hovered over the field, blasting Neuroi with volleys from their twin pulse cannons and micro missile launchers. Then the Fleet joined in, using ventral guns to blow apart anything within range, while point defense guns massacred any Neuroi that got too close, protecting the ground forces from any air attack. The wet navy fired volleys of powerful shells into Neuroi at the shore, while marines began disembarking their landing craft.

The Neuroi returned the favor. Any attempt to enter the cloud was answered with massive amounts of energy fire from emplacements inside the city. Entire squadrons of fighters and bombers vanished as volleys of lasers tore apart their planes. On the ground Neuroi lasers tore through over a hundred tanks, and entire platoons of infantrymen died from single shots. At the shore several ships went down as lasers raked the water. Even the tough UED units could remain untouched. An Osorio went down as two Ultras concentrated their fire, as did several LAV IIIs, Buffels, and a few Armored Skirmishers. Dozens of drones were swatted out of the air by laser fire. In the sky multiple F-111s and one of the fleet's F-23s were destroyed. The witches, through a combination of being small targets, expert dodgers, and shields managed to pull through without losing anyone. Even as both sides took losses, replacements took their places and the front line continued to be a mess of destroyed vehicles and dying men over a front kilometers long.

General Higgins, commander of the UED ground forces, frowned as he looked at the battle on the screen of his Inquisitor. They were winning, no doubt about that, but the UED really couldn't afford to take heavy casualties, what with most of the _Vengeance of Japan's_ internal fabricators being used to make repairs to the Fleet. He continued sending orders to separate groups of UED soldiers. "I need another support barrage covering our infantry! Osorios and the David, make a breach! And someone get me Fleet Command!"

* * *

**Frontline of the battle**

**David Superheavy Tank _Eternal Hatred_**

"Natasha! Neuroi Walker! range: 1500 meters!" Tank Commander Oleg screamed to his gunner from his seat at the center of the tank, observing the battlefield, as the tank rumbled as repeated hits from Neuroi lasers bounced off its thick armor.

"Da commander, firing now!" the young woman responded, as the tank's massive laser cannon lanced through the Neuroi's core, obliterating it in an instant.

"Target destroyed! New target, Neuroified Matilda! range: 900 meters! Fire!" A massive BOOM! was heard as the tank's 200mm cannon spat out a shell that annihilated blew the converted tank to bits.

"Excellent Natasha!" Oleg grinned, before looking back into the depths of the cramped tank, toward a grey-bearded man working at a control panel. "Kliment, how are we doing on those missiles? I want another volley firing at the air!"

"Just getting the targets set up, we've got two more volleys after this one and- There we go!" He cheered as a a few dozen micro missiles flew into a pair of Large Types bombarding a battalion of Shermans from up in the air. "That's two less Larges, we've got a breach in their lines!"

"Alright then!" Oleg got onto comms with the entire advance force. "All tanks advance! Don't stop till the city is clear!"

* * *

**Suez**

**17th Mechanized Infantry Regiment**

**Rapier Company**

The soldiers who entered Suez thought for a moment that they had gone to Hell. Most of the buildings were in ruins from artillery fire, with rubble strewn across the entire area. The skies above were choked with black clouds from the Neuroi Hive high above their heads. On the shoreline marines had struggled to advance into the city, and in the distance the advance forces could hear the hum of lasers and the sounds of gunfire as the marines tried to advance forward. Recently fired lasers gave the very air a burnt taste and smell.

Things got worse as they got further in. The Neuroi had had months to fortify Suez, and converted tanks, field guns, and even worse, large masses of Neuroi armor covered Outposts, immobile Neuroi that acted as powerful stationary defenses. There were only a few Outposts inside the Suez, and all of the large ones were deep inside the city, near the Tower, but each one that was found took extreme amounts of effort and casualties to deal with. Even worse, several began deployed land-based drones, or as the UED called them, Infantry Bots.

The men of the 17th still pushed forward, blasting apart anything that stood in front of them. They had split into their individual companies, each one moving with a specific purpose in mind, whether it was to secure a point, clear an Outpost, or a general advance. Each objective helped them reach their main goal: the Chimeran Tower, rising high above the skyline.

Rapier Company had been assigned to link up with the Allied Marines and help them advance towards the Tower. The ninety surviving members marched alongside twenty Archer combat drones, a half dozen Buffels, three Assault Drones, and two Stalkers. So far, the advance had been going smoothly, the Buffels' and Archers' pulse cannons slaughtered bots with ease, while Augers, Ion cannons, missiles, and rockets had torn through the few Neuroi tanks they had encountered, even as the sounds of gunfire drew closer as the company advanced, blasting anything that wasn't human.

They encountered the first marines in the middle of a battle with a pair of Heavy Neuroi. A volley of ion beams tore through one of the aliens. As the other turned around to avenge its comrade it exposed its core to a volley of Bazooka and anti-tank rifle fire, which sent it crashing down. The two human groups examined each other. The marines had set up makeshift barricades in the middle of the rubble of several buildings, and there were several destroyed tanks and dozens of burnt corpses, as well as what little wreckage remained from several Heavies. The survivors were about 60 strong, from several nationalities, using anti-tank rifles, bazookas, and a trio of 57mm field guns. Oh and there were two Type 89 tanks as well, but Captain Simmons wasn't sure if they could be counted.

Simmons spoke first. "I'm Captain Simmons, Rapier Company, 17th Mechanized infantry. Who's in charge here?"

There was a half minute of arguing and confusion in the Allied ranks until a Liberion man stepped forward. "Sergeant Sullivan, United States Marine Raiders, and the highest ranking survivor of this sorry bunch. I'm guessing you're the UED everyone's been talking about. Thanks for the save."

"Just doing our job Sergeant, and we've got another one. Most of the Neuroi are bunched up near the Tower over there" Simmons pointed to the massive structure. "Are you still up for another fight?"

Sullivan gave the marines a quick look. "Fuck yes we are sir! It's time for payback."

* * *

The front-line between the marines and the Neuroi was a mess. The advance forces of both sides were cut off from support and were being pounded with fire. Battleships continued to barrage the city, turning entire blocks into open ground filled with rubble. Soldiers went down with horrific wounds, from their faces being melted off by glancing blows from lasers to entire sections of their bodies vanishing in flashes of red light. Suez no longer resembled a city. It was a wasteland of shattered vehicles, destroyed buildings, and corpses.

And still humanity fought on. The Marines and African forces linked up and continued the battle. Rapier Company quickly enlarged itself as scattered units joined its advance. Witches used the rubble as cover, ambushing large groups of Neuroi that would have cost hundreds of losses to remove and beating their foes without even a scratch.

Soon a pattern emerged. Soldiers with Augers would target close up targets through buildings, while other men with light infantry mortars common in the UED launched barrages of fire at distant emplacements, while other men with rapid-fire shoulder mounted ion beam cannons kept the skies clear of Neuroi acting as gunships. Bit by bit, and bombed out block by block, the Neuroi were pushed back, leaving behind them trails of broken hulls and bodies.

But even as all this went on, more flying Neuroi emerged from the Hive in endless waves, and while some moved to engage the soldiers fighting in the city, most went on to join the battle outside the cloud, where the massive aerial battle was still ongoing.

* * *

**Aerial Combat Zone**

**Outside the Hive's cloud**

_**Vengeance of Japan**_

Howin frowned as a volley from the Japan's railguns blew apart a squadron of Large Types. The flaw of the Bulletstorms was becoming painfully apparent very quickly. True the multi-barreled guns would tear apart Neuroi like they were made of paper, but they burnt through ammunition like nothing else. That wasn't a problem back in UEG space, where a full resupply from Earth was usually a few hours, or at most a day away at most. Now however, with most of the Carrier's internal fabricators busy making plating to repair the ships, the constant battles were starting to drain the 3rd Fleet's ammunition stockpiles quickly. He made a mental note to inform High Command of this flaw if he ever got back.

While he mused the battle continued, as planes, witches, and Neuroi alike twisted and weaved around each other in dogfights. Any Neuroi that got to far from a human quickly found itself torn to shreds by the Fleet's close range weapons and Armored Skirmishers, and large concentrations moving out from the Hive were blown apart by the 64 inch cannons, ion beams, and missiles. On the flip side, Neuroi field guns still kept the human forces at bay, even as their numbers were constantly reduced as the ground forces advanced. Soon their numbers would be small enough that Howin could risk moving the Fleet into the cloud to deal with the Hive without fear of losing their weakened shields and taking severe damage.

A small group of Neuroi attempted to make a run on Liberty 5, and all but one of the creatures were shredded for their troubles. The guns quickly tracked the survivor...

But failed to fire before a ruby red laser beam tore through its core, destroying it as it shrieked in surprise. Several nearby Neuroi were just as shocked, and their combat maneuvers became clumsy as they tried to find out what had happened, leaving them easy targets.

Howin stared at the scene in disbelief. "What the hell just happened out there?" He demanded, incredulous. Everyone else was just as baffled, Neuroi never shot each other, the only cases he knew of were friendly fire incidents, and those only happened when human warships unleashed truly hellish amounts of jamming.

"I- I don't know sir, tracking beam now." As the scanners and recon drones did their work, another beam shot out, burning another Neuroi to dust. "Sir we've got it! Bringing up visual now." A screen showed the viewpoint of one of the Fleet's drones. On it was a Neuroi, but unlike any other Neuroi they'd seen, this one was humanoid, with cat-like ears sticking out of its head, and had hands ending in glowing red implements, which continued to fire lasers at any nearby Neuroi. After three more shots it noticed the drone. It immediately boosted towards the _Vengeance of Japan _and started screeching when it got close enough for the Carrier to pick up.

Howin covered his ears as the screeching entered the comms system. "What is that thing saying!?"

"No idea sir, but the rest of the Neuroi don't seem to like it!" The crewman was right, the moment the screeching started, the closest Neuroi immediately broke off from their attacks and began rushing towards the Humanoid, shooting all the way. The Humanoid immediately began evading and firing back, even while it continued screeching to the Carrier.

Howin finally recovered from the events. He stared at the Humanoid, which continued to weave around the Carrier, and kept screeching, sometimes for a while, sometimes stopping a bit after it began. His mouth worked. "Cover that Neuroi."

"Sir?"

"Cover that Neuroi!" He yelled. "It's trying to tell us something, and its no good to us dead! Get the 501st on the horn and tell them they've got escort duty. And make damn sure we're recording what that thing's saying!"

* * *

"What!?" Minna yelled into her comms over the battle, busy blasting apart a group of drones with the rest of the 501st.

"There's a witch-like Neuroi circling around the Carrier trying to tell us something. Your new job is to protect it for as long as possible, the rest of the Neuroi are going berserk around it." Came the response from Overseer.

"You want us to _protect_ a Neuroi?" Mio echoed, baffled.

"It's shooting the other hostiles, and they say that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Besides, it could have important intelligence it's trying to tell us about. Wolverine Squadron will assist you, now get going!"

Minna nodded and signaled the rest of the 501st. At the same time, Wolverine Squadron's F-23s broke off from the fighting and followed them to the carrier, where the Humanoid was still engaged with the rest of the Neuroi. The UED's Armored Skirmishers had taken up positions protecting the Humanoid, and were also weaving in and out of combat, destroying many Neuroi, but more continued to pour in from every direction, sometimes outright ignoring everything else in favor of attacking the turncoat.

The 501st and Wolverines dove into combat almost immediately, as a volley of missiles from the F-23s and Sanya blew open most of the small and medium types. A millisecond later Lynette blasted a Large Type in the core, and the rest of the witches began supporting the Skirmishers.

It was strange. Minna thought as she teamed up with two of the mechas against a Large Type. Just a couple days ago she wouldn't have touched anything like the Skirmishers with a ten-meter pole, but now she was here, fighting alongside them, and actually trusting the Warlock-like things to watch her back and keep her girls safe. Just now she saw several of them move to protect Lynette as she took down Neuroi with her new rifle.

The fighters, skirmishers, and witches worked like they had been practicing combined arms for years. After the F-23s had been rearmed, they returned to the fight and targeted the largest Neuroi, bringing them down with pinpoint missile strikes before diving in with their energy cannons. The Armored Skirmishers used their own weapons to take apart anything that got too close to the fighters. The witches would dive in and out of combat, strafing Neuroi and using their powers to great effect. All the while the guns of the fleet fired at anything trying to approach.

The battle continued to escalate. More Neuroi began breaking off, desperately trying to attack the Humanoid. In response, more planes and witches came to help defend the turncoat, and one of the _Liberty 5_ moved closer to provide support, while the _Charlie Tent_ and _Unity 3 _took advantage of the Neuroi's distraction to move into the cloud and attack the Hive directly. Minna took a quick look at her wing as she gunned down another Large with the Wraith. Mio had just bisected another Large Type, Shirley was busy fighting alongside and chatting with Wolverine Squadron, Gertrude, Erica, Lucchini, and Perrine were fighting alongside another group of witches against dozens of Neuroi. From what she could tell Erica was arguing with another witch, Hanna-Justina Marseille. Lynette was staying up high, moving from target to target at a faster pace than should have been possible, each shot destroying a core. Eila was carrying an exhausted Sanya back to the carrier to get more missiles, and Yoshika...

... That was a good question, where _was_ Yoshika? She did a quick search and found her, staring straight at the Neuroi Witch's core, which it had exposed.

* * *

Yoshika had been protecting the Neuroi since she had entered the battle. It had stopped screeching a while ago and had continued blasting apart its kin with powerful lasers from its hands. Yoshika covered its back, shooting down drones while it handled the Large Types.

One large type took Yoshika by surprise, blasting her several times, destroying her shields before a laser beam destroyed it.

"Than-" Yoshika stopped as she turned around, seeing the Neuroi less than a foot away from her. Its chest opened up to reveal its core, pulsing gently, and shining with a faint glow. Fascinated, Yoshika reached for it.

"Yoshika, what are you doing!? Pull back now! Miyafuji, answer me!" Minna's voice came from Yoshika's comms.

She ignored it, hypnotized by the Neuroi, her hand touched the Core and began to firmly grasp it.

Images_**hunger**_flashedthroug hermind_**wardeath-many-energy-farm-feed**_

_**ma nyworlds-die-eaten-manype ople-consume-hurt-foedi ekillm ove**_

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_**SOTIR EDFIGH TDIEP ROT ECT**_

_**N EWARR IVE STR AN GE2015NOWD ANGER PANI CFEAR 538NOTA GAI NNE VERGR EATMASTE RSFEAR REP EATCA NNOTALL OWE ARLYH ARVE STFAR MWORLD**_

_**COMESOONWORLDDAN GERTRAP**__**CORPSED IEWORLDBURNFL EETSHIPSBEAMDEAT HNOHOPEM USTESC APE MUSTWARN**_

_**STOPFL EETPLE ASEP RO TECTFR IENDSAL LYHE LP**__**CU BEAN CIEN TGRE ATS TRE NGTHGET OBT AINH ELPPR OTEC THAR MFO ES**__**MO RELI KE AI DHEL PHIVE ST OPF ARMH ARVE STENO UGHDE ATHENO UGHP AI N **_

_**NOMORENOMORENOMORETELL**_

_**WARNYELL**_

_**SCREAM**_

* * *

Minna had been dashing towards Yoshika and redoubled her efforts as the girl screamed, lunging back from the Neuroi in horror, staring at it and babbling in her own language. She had just reached it and was preparing to fire when it suddenly took on a burst of speed and smacked her with superhuman force, leaving her with several new bruises and sending her flying off. It turned to Yoshika and grabbed her. Then three Large Type Neuroi broke through the defenses and charged at the Humanoid. It turned quickly and hurled Yoshika at Minna, sending them both sprawling and barely managing to avoid getting hit by each others' Strikers. Then it turned, extended both of its hands and fired two lasers. Each one tore through one of the Neuroi, but the final survivor unleashed a volley of its own, striking and damaging the Humanoid. Then, still taking fire from all directions, it rammed into its target, destroying both Neuroi and leaving nothing but falling sparks.

"Yoshika!" Lynette practically barreled into the Fusoan girl, whose Strikers had turned off somewhere in the middle of the mess. Minna let go as Lynette hugged her friend tightly, whispering into her ear. Yoshika responded by hugging the Britannian even tighter. The rest of the 501st quickly gathered around, looking very concerned for their newest member. "What-?" Gertrude started.

Minna shook her head and gave a baffled shrug, before getting back to buisness. "Yoshika's in no shape for combat. Lynette, get her back to the Carrier, the rest of us will stop any Neuroi from touching her." The Wing nodded, their expressions fierce.

The 501st massacred anything that tried to stop them, but just as they got to the _Vengeance of Japan_ the black cloud vanished, as did the remaining Neuroi, leaving the _Charlie Tent_ and _Unity 3_, both with several more scorch marks and damaged parts than they had had before, hovering over the massive Chimeran Tower, partially excavated over the utterly destroyed city of Suez.

* * *

_Codex:_

_UED Warfare Doctrine: UED Doctrine can best be described as flexible. Used to fighting a variety of Chimeran strains and vehicles, the average UED formation comes equipped to deal with any form of opposition. This is best shown with UED mechanized infantry. The average company will carry a plethora of mortars for indirect fire, ion cannons, LAWs, rocket launchers, and missile launchers to destroy tougher foes, and vehicle and drone support to deal with any number of situations. Furthermore, all UED forces are capable of operating on a squad level to deal with much larger and more powerful hostile forces. The best example of this was when a squad of British soldiers used hit and run tactics to destroy two Goliaths without losing a single man. Armored Regiments combine MBTs, IFVs, and artillery to deliver punishing amounts of firepower on relatively small areas, with light tanks usually being reserved for Airborne regiments._

_Archer combat drone: A small drone only as high as a human's knee, the Archer is cheap and quick to produce, and can be armed with a number of infantry weapons, from machine guns to rifles and rocket launchers._

_Assault Drone: Also known as the HK(Hunter-Killer), the Assault drone is armed with four Energy Pulse Cannons and a pair of Micro missile launchers, and is protected by a powerful energy shield. HK Drones are used to flush out hostile squads, and engage in hit and run attacks on hostile armor._

_Eagle VTOL: The gunship of the UED, armed with two nose mounted 20mm cannons, and racks that can mount rockets or anti-tank missiles, also carrier a shield generator for protection. This gunship was designed to continue to provide support even if Chimeran Stalkers were present._

_Battle of Suez: The Battle of Suez was the first major battle in which UED forces had a large presence. Starting off with a massive armor clash, the battle eventually moved into the city, where Allied Marine forces had already landed. During the fight, UED Mechanized Infantry forces distinguished themselves, storming Outposts and using a variety of tactics to neutralize Neuroi strong-points with minimal casualties. Even so, the battle ended with tens of thousands dead, and even more wounded. UED casualties included 2 Osorios, over two dozen LAV IIIs and Bulffels, 19 Stalkers, over a thousands drones, 3 F-23s, 18 F-111s, a half dozen VTOLs , 23 Armored Skirmishers, and hundreds of soldiers. As was common for previous battles during the war, there were no witch deaths. The city of Suez was utterly destroyed during the battle, with almost every building completely leveled. Even so, due to the Chimeran Tower, Suez would become the UED Headquarters for the rest of the war. Furthermore, with the capture of Suez, the Suez Canal was restored, creating a soon-to-be vital link between Asia and Europe._

_Emergency Thresholds: When things get desperate, Emergency Thresholds are called, allowing a number of previously unthinkable options to come into play._

_ET 3: Tactical Emergency: A vital resource has been located, and under no circumstances is it to be allow to be taken by the enemy. Even if it means abandoning all others fronts in the region, this position/resource must be taken and/or held._

_ET 2: Regional Emergency: The situation has become so bad in a region that any option is allowed to remove the invaders. Danger-Close Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical operations have been authorized, as has the Universal Conscription of any able-bodied person, and many who aren't._

_ET 1: Strategic Emergency: The region is in danger of being overrun, and the total destruction of it has been deemed better than allowing the enemy to take it. All methods are to be used to render the region completely sterile and uninhabitable, including Nuclear Saturation and Grey Tech Explosions._

_ET 0: Final Emergency: All is lost. Humanity has reached the point where total annihilation is better than defeat. Specially enhanced bombs are to be detonated within the Earth's crust, destroying Earth, and hopefully taking the enemy with us._

_Neuroi Type, Humanoid: We have absolutely no idea what this is._

* * *

**A/N: The Eagle VTOL looks like the Black Ops 2 VTOL. The Archer looks like the Endwar Drone. The Assault Drone is a Chimeran Attack Drone that's been modified with more firepower.**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Tell me what you liked!**


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